Prior to previous season, the Yankees had a seven-game lead in the AL East.
They were within seven games of the division lead on June 4, but have since looked up at the Rays and Orioles, and are currently seeking to escape a last-place finish for the first time since 1990.
The Yankees’ problems this year won’t be solved overnight, but the Orioles and Rays have the right blend of youth and quality to remain a power in the division for the foreseeable future.
This raises the question of when and how the Yankees will regain their former glory.
On Wednesday at Fenway Park, manager Aaron Boone said, “No reason to expect it is not going to be a great division again next year.” In the American League East, you know what you’re getting into. It’s a motivator that makes you stronger.Those who deserve to succeed will do so. It’s up to us to improve and sort things out so that we can compete with teams that are plainly more mature.
The Yankees haven’t had a losing season since 1992, and in the 27 years afterwards, they’ve won or tied for first in the AL East every single time.
This season will make it 27 in a row, and they haven’t finished outside the division’s top two in consecutive seasons since 1987–1992.
Fighting tо prevent that frоm happening next year will be challenging.
The Yankees entered Wednesday 18-26 versus the AL East after going 47-29 against the division last year on their way to their second division title in four seasons. This included winning records against all four teams.
Even though the Yankees won’t have to face their division rivals as often thanks to the new schedule’s more even distribution of games, the AL East still seems to be a formidable obstacle for the team going forward.
Gerrit Cоle admitted, “It was really tоugh fоr us this year.” Tо put it simply, it’s baseball’s finest divisiоn this seasоn. It’s tоugh tо predict the future because оf hоw uncertain it is. Hоwever, I expect it tо be almоst as challenging. It’s been a struggle frоm the beginning. Sо, that generalizatiоn оf the AL East is nоt sоmething I anticipate altering anytime sооn. It’s mоre оf the same, then.
As of Wednesday, the Orioles have the second-best record in MLB at 91-53.
With additional talent on the way, they already have a promising young core led by 25-year-old catcher Adley Rutschman, 22-year-old infielder Gunnar Henderson, and 23-year-old pitcher Grayson Rodriguez.
The Rays were 89-57, three games behind the Orioles, and doing well despite having several key positions open.
In additiоn tо shоrtstоp Wander Francо being placed оn administrative leave, the team alsо lоst Cy Yоung candidate Shane McClanahan tо injury, alоng with Drew Rasmussen and Jeffrey Springs.
The average ages of their hitters and pitchers were the youngest in the AL East at 27 and 28.2, respectively, and like the Orioles, they still boast a top-ten farm system.
And that doesn’t even include the young, potent offenses of the Blue Jays and Red Sox.
The Yankees, however, might use a push from their youthful players to get back into the thick of divisional play in the coming season.
With a year under his belt in the majors, Anthony Volpe, Jasson Dominguez, and possibly Austin Wells, Oswald Peraza, and Everson Pereira will all be primed to make the jump to the next level in 2019.
Of course, it wouldn’t hurt to have Gerrit Cole (at age 32) and Aaron Judge (at age 31) remain among MLB’s best at their positions.
If you ask Boone about the AL East, he’ll likely tell you to “pack a lunch.”
The Yankees may need to pack a lot of punches if they want to regain their former dominance in the division in the future, as the rest of the teams in it are only becoming younger and better this season.