Dodgers manager Dave Roberts has no shortage of words to describe Shohei Ohtani’s ability to pitch and hit in the NLDS.
Sports pulse
NEW YORK – The New York Yankees began the 2025 season by torpedoing the team that finished with the best record in baseball.
In that opening three-game series against the Milwaukee Brewers, the Bronx Bombers hit anything near the strike zone, hitting 15 home runs, tying the Major League record for most home runs by the team in the first three games of the season, while scoring 36 and having the baseball establishment at large wondering if they were using illegal bats.
Turns out the perceived cheating was much ado about nothing, and they got back to the business of trying to capture the franchise’s 28th world championship.
Their 2025 season ended on Wednesday, October 8, with the pitching staff being torpedoed by Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and the Toronto Blue Jays, culminating in a 5-2 loss and a four-game blowout in the American League Division Series, leaving the same old questions about why a talented, well-paid team hasn’t lifted the World Series trophy since 2009.
It was the Yankees’ starting pitchers who struggled in the ALDS, ultimately leading to an early October exit. Luis Gil allowed two runs in just 2⅔ innings in a 10-1 rout in Game 1, Max Fried was shelled for seven runs in three innings in Game 2, and Carlos Rodón allowed six earned runs in just 2⅓ innings in Game 3. Those combined for a 16.88 ERA in eight innings pitched.
Questions about the offseason began immediately after the game for manager Aaron Boone, who has won 90 or more games in six of his eight seasons but still has just one American League pennant to show for it, despite a 2025 Opening Day payroll of nearly $285 million, third-highest in MLB behind the New York Mets and Los Angeles Dodgers.
“The worst thing about this is the journey that you go on, and this has been a difficult year for me personally. But everything you go through to become this type of team that believes you can really do something special, and for it to end abruptly is always difficult,” Boone said.
“You put a lot into going on this long journey and having the opportunity to chase a dream and win a championship. And when it ends this way, it’s always terrible. It hurts.”
“But I know for me personally, I know for a lot of those guys, it also continues to light the fire to want to come back and play in these meaningful games and have a shot at glory.”
Gerrit Cole is expected to return to full health after missing the season following Tommy John surgery, rejoining the pitching rotation alongside Fried, who won 19 games in his first season on an eight-year, $218 million contract with New York.
Rodón, the starting pitcher in Game 3, won 18 games, and there’s 24-year-old Cam Schlittler, whose performance in Game 3 of the wild-card series against the Boston Red Sox caught the attention of the league. Schlittler was the losing pitcher in Game 4 of the Division Series, but was solid in 6⅓ innings. Boone said he has supreme confidence that Schlittler can be a stalwart in a rotation that ranks as one of the best in the American League.
“He gave us a really good chance to win a baseball game,” Boone said of Schlittler. “I think we all understand how excited we are about Cam and his future and what he could be in our rotation in the future. He had a phenomenal season and finished strong tonight.”
Despite troubles in the regular season, the Yankees were never more than 6.5 games out of the AL East lead at any point, and a late-season surge, including an eight-game winning streak, pushed New York to 94-68, the same record as the Blue Jays. But the Yankees lost the tiebreaker after Toronto beat them in eight of 13 games played head-to-head.
And of course, the focus will be on reigning AL MVP Aaron Judge, who had another outstanding season with 54 home runs and 114 RBIs while leading the majors in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage and OPS, despite missing time with a right elbow flexor strain that limited his time on the field upon his return.
But the Yankees captain and two-time MVP will be 34 and fellow slugger Giancarlo Stanton will be 36 at the start of next season. The team has a much better chance to enjoy the benefits and production of baseball’s best hitter.
Judge was spectacular in the postseason, batting .500 with a 1.273 OPS, including a majestic game-tying home run in Game 3 that will be talked about for years. But still, it wasn’t enough.
“I liked our opportunities all year,” Judge said. “It just sucks for the guys, that it might be the last time they wear pinstripes and they can’t have a long career in them. Disappointed, we let all those guys down.
“We didn’t do our job, we didn’t achieve the goal. I want to get back out there right now, I wish spring training was in a couple of weeks.”
There are also questions about whether 30-year-old Cody Bellinger (.272, 29 HR, 98 RBI), acquired in a trade with the Chicago Cubs, will return, as he has a $25 million player option for 2026 and could opt out and become a free agent. And third base will be a focal point over the winter, as trade deadline acquisition Ryan McMahon struggled at times, and opening day starter Oswaldo Cabrera is recovering from a broken left ankle he suffered in May.
It will be up to owner Hal Steinbrenner, who will ultimately decide Boone’s fate, and veteran general manager Brian Cashman, whose contract runs through 2026. Boone said he hopes to return to the fold next year.
“I believe in a lot of the people in that room. It’s hard to win the World Series, I’ve been chasing it my whole life,” Boone said. “I have a contract, so I don’t expect anything.”