The Yankees held a players-only meeting after their 4-0 loss to the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday. New York has been held scoreless in three straight games for the first time since 2016.
Some of the Yankees’ veterans — Paul Goldschmidt, Giancarlo Stanton, Aaron Judge, and Cody Bellinger — led the meeting, according to NJ.com. Bellinger and catcher Austin Wells were made available to the media after the meeting.
“We had good talks,” Bellinger said, per Nj.com. “It’s a little rut we’re in, and we’ve got to get out of it. The good teams get out of it. I’ve got full confidence in the guys in here. We have such a talented team.”
New York still ranks atop the American League in on-base percentage, home runs and runs. About a week ago, Royals’ star pitchers Kris Bubic and Noah Cameron each allowed season-highs in runs to the Yankees, who swept the series on the road.
But since then, New York’s recorded just four runs across five contests and is averaging nearly 10 strikeouts per game in that span.
“I think it’s a little bit more highlighted because it’s consecutive games, but I think it’s just baseball,” Wells said, per Nj.com. “We’ve hit some hard balls, we’ve had some strikeouts and weak contact. I think people have been playing the game and we’re going to continue doing it.”
The Yankees’ recent woes could push General Manager Brian Cashman to be aggressive at the trade deadline, which is on July 31. Center fielder Trent Grisham, who batted below .200 in each of the past three regular seasons, hasn’t hit a home run this month after blasting 13 across April and May.
Ben Rice is enduring similar struggles to the end of last year, which led to the first baseman not appearing in the postseason. Left fielder Jasson Domínguez has played only 85 games in his career and is hitting .205 in June. Second baseman DJ LeMahieu’s production has diminished each of the past three seasons — it wouldn’t be shocking for New York to move on.
Just about the only recent positive for the Yankees is their pitching. New York hasn’t allowed more than four runs in a game since June 8, with young starters like Clarke Schmidt and Will Warren emerging as reliable options and potential stars.
The Yankees look primed for another deep postseason run if their offense can return near its normal level of production to support a rapidly improving pitching staff. Amid New York’s latest hitting troubles, that’s become a real concern.
