The Yankees had significant leads in Game 1 in Los Angeles and Game 5 in Yankee Stadium but dropped both of them. They lost the World Series to one of their traditional World Series rivals in 5 games. Freddie Freeman hit a walk-off grand slam to give the Dodgers the opening game of the series and Yankees slugger Aaron Judge dropped what appeared to be a routine fly ball in Game 5 that keyed a Dodgers come-from-behind rally.
That painful World Series loss is likely to stay with the Yankees and inspire them to a World Series title in 2025, according to MLB Network host Robert Flores. “I think the Yankees finally get over the hump this year,” Flores said. “That’s my way-too-early prediction for 2025.”
The Yankees certainly came close to winning their 28th World Series title after earning the American League East title with a 94-68 record and two rounds in the playoffs.
During the offseason, the Yankees acquired Cody Bellinger in a trade with the Chicago Cubs, signed pitcher Max Fried as a free agent and signed slugger Paul Goldschmidt, also as a free agent.
Even though they lost free agent Juan Soto to the crosstown New York Mets, manager Aaron Jones may have a stronger team than he did last year.
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The Yankees should have the power needed in their lineup to gain the upper hand on most of their opponents as well as the starting pitching to shut down opposing lineups.
Judge is clearly the center piece of their lineup and the Yankees will need him to produce in a similar manner to last season. The slugging outfielder blasted a Major League leading 58 home runs and he also led the big leagues with 144 runs batted in. He slashed .322/.458/.701 and had a WAR of 10.8. He will need to get support from Bellinger and Goldschmidt along with Anthony Volpe and Giancarlo Stanton.
The pitching staff is led by hard-throwing right-hander Gerrit Cole who delivered an 8-5 record with a 3.41 ERA while striking out 99 batters in 95.0 innings. Carlos Rodon had a 16-9 record with a 3.96 ERA while fanning 195 hitters in 175.0 innings. Rodon started 32 games for the Yankees.
The addition of Fried to the pitching staff should be a huge development. The 30-year-old lefthander was 11-10 last season for the Atlanta Braves with a 3.25 ERA while completing 2 games and authoring 1 shutout.
Steve Silverman has been covering the NFL for more than 35 years, and his writing has appeared in ESPN Magazine, Bleacher Report, CBS Sports, Pro Football Weekly, and Forbes.com. He has written 10 books, including “Who’s Better, Who’s Best in the NFL.”
