Ahead of Tuesday’s game against the Rays, the Yankees largely stood pat at the MLB trade deadline, deciding to double down on a playoff run with their current roster.
That plan got off to an uninspiring start.
The Yankees’ season-long offensive issues continued Tuesday and starting pitcher Carlos Rodon struggled with his command in a 5-2 loss to Tampa Bay in the Bronx. New York remains 3.5 games out of the final American League Wild Card spot with no major reinforcements coming.
“It’s on us,” manager Aaron Boone said afterward. “It’s on the people in that room. We gotta figure it out if we’re gonna get to where we want to go. I know it looks bad right now. We understand that, but we’ve got to fight from within now.”
For the second day in a row, the Yankees only managed three hits against a front-line Rays starting pitcher. Zach Eflin struck out five over six scoreless innings, following up Monday night’s gem by Tyler Glasnow, who punched out eight in his seven innings of one-run ball.
After slugging four home runs in Monday’s win, the Rays hit two more Tuesday against Rodon, with Yandy Diaz lining a third-inning solo shot and Randy Arozarena adding a two-run blast later in the frame. Rodon only lasted four innings, surrendering four runs and four walks.
“They definitely made me work, fouling off good pitches and made contact with good pitches,” Rodon said. “It’s just a good lineup and I wish I was a lot better than I was.”
The left-hander fell to 1-4 with a 6.29 ERA in five starts this season, his first of a six-year, $162 million contract with the Yankees. He missed the first three months of the season with forearm and back issues.
The Yankees rallied with four hits — including a Gleyber Torres RBI double and a DJ LeMahieu RBI single — in the ninth inning. Pinch-hitter Giancarlo Stanton represented the tying run when he batted against reliever Peter Fairbanks with two runners on base, but he struck out to end the game.
The loss was the third in a row for the Yankees, who are 6-10 since the All-Star break. They fell to 55-52 on the season and remain in last place in the loaded AL East.
The game began about an hour after a trade deadline in which the Yankees only added one major-league player in Keynan Middleton, a reliever from the White Sox with a 3.96 ERA.
“We’re fully capable with the guys we’ve got in this room to go out there and compete on a daily basis,” Yankees star Aaron Judge said after the loss. “The results haven’t come, obviously, all year, but we’ve still got two months left in the season and we’ve got a lot of work to do.”
The Yankees approached the deadline willing to buy or sell depending on what became available, general manager Brian Cashman said. They ultimately decided to move forward with a roster featuring the reigning AL MVP in Judge, who recently returned from an injured big toe, as well as veterans in Stanton, LeMahieu and Anthony Rizzo, who have each performed below expectations.
“We were open-minded to a lot of different things, and we stayed engaged every step of the way,” Cashman told reporters after the deadline. “But we felt when the dust settled, no one was able to pry anything away from us that we felt was more valuable than where we’re sitting in standings … and having a chance to find a way to get it together and take a shot.”
The Rays, who hold the top AL Wild Card spot, entered the three-game series at Yankee Stadium just 7-16 in July. The Yankees will look to avoid being swept Wednesday night in a matchup of Cy Young Award contenders, with Gerrit Cole (9-2, 2.64 ERA) scheduled to pitch against Tampa Bay’s Shane McClanahan (11-1, 3.00).
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