Yankees' Disastrous Offensive Concerns Put Brian Cashman Under Spotlight

If it feels like the New York Yankees are one of the worst offensive teams in the league, it's because they are. Their failures can be pinpointed to one moment: when Aaron Judge went down.

When Judge was healthy, the Yankees were one of the best offenses in the sport, and this was considered a down year by his standards. Their .770 OPS was second. Only the Dodgers were better. They also had a 117 wRC+, which was second to the Dodgers, who had 118.

The offense tanked from that point on, which is a similar trend to what happened to the 2023 Yankees once Judge crashed into a wall. Without Judge, the Yankees' .672 OPS is the third-worst in baseball. Their 88 wRC+ is tied for last with the Angels, Blue Jays and Reds.

Brian Cashman seemed like a mad genius in the offseason after running it back without many new additions. In a lot of ways, he was right. The team is just different with and without Judge, and if there's a world where Judge stays healthy, the offense is probably rolling throughout the year.

If one were to give Cashman leeway because of injuries, that's fine, but there is no denying that the deadline was botched.

The missteps of the trade deadline

Give him and his staff credit for landing Luis Garcia, the best bat available. He has been awesome with the Yankees, going 6-for-26 with two doubles and a homer.

The issue is that Cashman and company stopped there, and the addition of Heliot Ramos feels more like a lateral move to what Jasson Domínguez was giving them. Although it is still early in his tenure in New York, Ramos hasn't hit, and his defense is a circus act. At that point, they could have just kept Domínguez out there to do the same thing.

This deadline was reminiscent to the one in 2019. Just replace Garcia Jr. with Edwin Encarnacion for 2026. Cashman failed to add another arm, and it did feel like that roster was a starter away. They ended up balking on the asking price for Robbie Ray because they didn't want to part with Clint Frazier and Clarke Schmidt. In hindsight, that's probably one they wished they could do over.

In the end, that team was undone by a bullpen game in Houston, where Chad Green, the opener, gave up a three run blast in the first. Even though Ray had not become the Cy Young pitcher he would transform into in subsequent years, the righty could have been the difference in that series.

Ray aside, what the Yankees needed was another bat or two, be it an outfielder or catcher, and some bullpen arms. Mason Miller would have been a great addition, but you can't fault anybody for not landing a superstar of his caliber. A competent arm or two serving as bullpen depth would have sufficed.

As for a bat, if Cashman felt the package Adley Rutschman got wasn't one he wanted to beat, Liam Hicks ended up being available too. Unfortunately, he went to the Tampa Bay Rays.

Its insane what the Red Sox gave up for Adley https://t.co/RU0jsUhnuo pic.twitter.com/GW9ACyJx1P
— Bobby Milone (@BobbyMilone29) August 12, 2026

Luis Arráez could have been had for next to nothing. If Jazz Chisholm Jr. doesn't turn his season around, that one will come back to haunt the Yankees. Chisholm, at this point, is a glove-first player, and in 2026, Arráez is having a renaissance year with his glove and is a solid bat as well.

Another name they could have added was outfielder Taylor Ward. Ward has one of the best eyes and on-base percentages in baseball. He has a 98th percentile 16.3% walk rate and sees 4.1 pitches per plate appearance. His presence was felt for the Mariners against the Yankees already when he made a leaping grab to rob Ryan McMahon of an extra-base hit.

Seattle Mariners right fielder Taylor Ward (27) runs towards first base after hitting a single against the Tampa Bay Rays in the second inning at T-Mobile Park. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The trade deadline wasn't going to be about just adding stars. They just needed solid bats, deepening the lineup, as well as a few bullpen arms. Brian Cashman stood pat, though, outside of Garcia.

Right now, they'll just have to wait for reinforcements to arrive. Giancarlo Stanton was seen running around the bases. Until he actually returns, that just feels like those Ben Simmons summer workout videos that seem to leak every year on social media. Then, of course, there's Bellinger, who has yet to start a rehab assignment.

Until these guys come back, Judge, it will be on the pitching to carry them. It's a tall order to put up six scoreless innings every night.

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