New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone acknowledged on Sunday that it’s getting “late” in the season for his club to be struggling as much it did during this weekend’s series sweep by the Miami Marlins.
The Yankees now have just over 24 hours to regroup from Sunday’s 7-3 loss to the Marlins before taking on the Texas Rangers on Monday in a game that could impact the AL Wild Card race.
“We’re going into another tough opponent that’s playing well. We’ve got to do it. We’ve got to find a way,” Boone said Sunday (h/t YES Network).
Boone continued, “It’s getting to be real gut-check time. It’s getting late. It’s certainly not too late for us, and I am confident that we’re going to get it together, but that’s all it is right now. It’s empty until we start doing it.”
The Yankees marked a losing record in June, but still went into July with a 48-37 record and the top spot in the AL East.
The roster’s struggles have only continued since then. The Yankees have gone 12-15 since July 1 and have slipped behind both the Toronto Blue Jays and Boston Red Sox for the division lead.
When asked if he was surprised by how long the Yankees’ slump has lasted, Boone said, “Yes. Because I do feel like, since I’ve been here, I feel like we have a chance to be as good as any team that we’ve had.”
The sweep by the Marlins has been particularly dispiriting because it took place after the trade deadline, which the Yankees entered having won four of their last five games.
The club also spent the last week loading up on new players, trading for Ryan McMahon, Amed Rosario and Austin Slater in the week heading up to the deadline before bolstering the bullpen with deadline-day moves for David Bednar, Jake Bird and Camilo Doval.
All three relief pitchers struggled while making their Yankees debuts during the team’s series-opening 13-12 loss on Friday.
Two days later, starting pitcher Luis Gil looked rusty in his season debut after four months sidelined with a lat injury.
If the 2025 season were to end today, the Yankees would be entering the postseason in the second AL Wild Card spot. But with the Seattle Mariners, Rangers, Cleveland Guardians and Kansas City Royals all within three games back, the Yankees will need to improve over the 50 games remaining or else risk slipping out of the postseason picture altogether.
