Barring a miraculous September, the New York Yankees will miss the postseason for the first time since 2016, and finish with a losing record for the first time since 1992. Their streak of 30 consecutive winning seasons is the second longest in history, trailing only the 1926-64 Yankees (39 seasons). Thursday's loss (DET 4, NYY 3 in 10 innings) dropped New York to 65-69.
Earlier this summer, chairman Hal Steinbrenner said he would ask "tough questions" if the Yankees miss the postseason and finish in last place, outcomes that now appear likely. On Thursday, Steinbrenner added the Yankees will review every aspect of the organization, and maybe even bring in outside consultants. From the Associated Press:
"We're going to take a very deep dive into everything we're doing," Steinbrenner said. "We're looking to bring in possibly an outside company to really take a look at the analytics side of what we do. Baseball operations in general. We're going to have some very frank conversions with each other. This year was obviously unacceptable."
Although this deep dive into the organization has yet to take place, it has already been reported GM Brian Cashman is likely to return in 2024, for what would be his 27th season at the helm. Cashman himself called the season a "disaster" earlier this month. The Yankees were inactive at the trade deadline and appeared to be a team without a direction.
To their credit, the Yankees shifted gears as soon it became apparent they were out of the race in August, and called up prospects Oswald Peraza and Everson Pereira. Top prospects Jasson Domínguez and Austin Wells will join them Friday. That said, the Yankees just let Harrison Bader leave for nothing on waivers, even though there was interest at the trade deadline.
A year ago, the Yankees went 99-63 en route to winning the AL East and reaching the ALCS for the third time in six years. They were once again eliminated by the Houston Astros, however, and, after the series, Cashman defended the team's process. That process had led the Yankees to a likely last place finish and a quasi-rebuild in 2023.
