Yankees 2023 midseason grades for every key player

It has been a tale of two Yankees teams in the first half, one with Aaron Judge and one without. They were 35-25 when he crashed into the fence at Dodger Stadium on June 3, winning that day, and they’ve gone 14-17 since then.

Their primary culprit has been the offense: In 12 of their 31 games since Judge's injury, the Yanks have scored two or fewer runs, as none of the lineup mainstays are having above-average seasons, and at least a few have been abysmal.

They’d be worse if not for what is probably the deepest bullpen in baseball, but as they go to the All-Star break one game out of the third Wild Card spot - though still seven games over .500 - it’s anybody’s guess when Judge will return and how long the Yankees can survive without him.

Here are my first-half grades:

BRIAN CASHMAN

Ultimately the biggest issue is star players underachieving, and the Judge injury changed everything, but the offensive malaise was somewhat predictable after the way the Yankees finished last season. In that respect, Cashman has to be accountable for bringing back essentially the same lineup and not finding another bat when Andrew Benintendi left via free agency. Also, it’s clear the Josh Donaldson trade was a costly mistake. On the other hand, the GM again has done a nice job of finding replacement pieces to help survive the injuries and put together another outstanding bullpen. However, it’s a sign of his desperation to fix the offense that he just fired the hitting coach, a first-ever for him during the season, and an indication that perhaps Hal Steinbrenner is finally putting some pressure on his GM behind closed doors.

GRADE: C-

AARON BOONE

You can argue with some of his decisions on pulling starters and bullpen choices, and he certainly looked bad on Sunday saying he took Domingo German out of the game because he wanted his pitcher to finish the first half on a high note. But overall it’s hard to pin much blame on Boone for the way the Yankees have struggled since Judge got hurt. His key players just haven’t hit.

GRADE: C+

GERRIT COLE

Cole has lived up to the billing as an ace throughout the first half. At 9-2 with a 2.85 ERA and 123 strikeouts in 117 innings, he’s near the top among all major league pitchers in most statistical categories. Perhaps most significantly, he’s cut down on the home runs, his one big flaw last year, giving up 11 so far compared to a league-high 33 in 2022.

GRADE: A

NESTOR CORTES

It’s been a curious season for the left-hander, pitching to a 5.16 ERA not nearly as effective as he had been his last two seasons, perhaps because of the rotator cuff inflammation that has had him on the IL since May 30. Seems to be on his way back after a simulated game Sunday and the Yankees need a big second half from him.

GRADE: C-

DOMINGO GERMAN

Talk about peaks and valleys: At 5-5 with a 4.32 ERA, German practically defines inconsistency. He threw a perfect game in June and still had a 5.67 ERA for that month. In fact, here are his ERA numbers by month: April 5.54; May 2.54; June 5.67; July 2.61. It’s pretty much the story of his career: great stuff, especially the wipeout curve ball, but the command comes and goes.

GRADE: C

LUIS SEVERINO

What the heck has happened to this guy? Usually dominant when healthy, he suddenly is serving up BP in most starts this year, 1-4 with a 7.38 ERA, even with the big fastball that still is in the upper 90s. Three starts ago he threw six shutout innings vs. Texas Rangers, so it’s still in there somewhere, but he’ll need to figure it out soon or get bumped from the rotation when Cortes returns.

GRADE: D

CLARKE SCHMIDT

Yankee people have raved about his potential for years since he was their first-round draft pick in 2017, but he has never been able to get over the hump at the major league level. In his first full-fledged opportunity as a starter, he has been up and down this season, 4-6 with a 4.40 ERA, and just too hittable, having given up 96 hits in 88 innings.

GRADE: C

JHONY BRITO

An unheralded prospect, Brito has come up from the minors due to injuries in the rotation and has given the Yankees some solid starts. He’s had some rough ones as well, and is 4-4 with a 4.70 ERA in 12 appearances, 11 starts, but all in all has helped hold the rotation together.

GRADE: C

CLAY HOLMES

Since a few rough outings early in the season, Holmes has been outstanding as the Yankees’ closer, allowing a total of two runs since May 3. Overall he’s 4-2 with a 2.23 ERA and easily could have made the All-Star team.

GRADE: A

WANDY PERALTA

The veteran left-hander is having a second straight excellent season as an important piece in the bullpen. He’s pitching to a 2.62 ERA and he’s a huge weapon against left-handed hitters, who are hitting .087 against him, 4-for-46 with no extra-base hits.

GRADE: A

MICHAEL KING

A few bad outings in big spots have slightly marred an otherwise excellent season as King has established himself as one of the best multi-inning relievers in the majors. Not quite as dominant as last year, but still pitching to a 2.77 ERA with 51 Ks in 48.2 innings, and a 1.089 WHIP.

GRADE: B+

IAN HAMILTON

A nice find by the Yankees’ front office, signed as a low-level free agent last winter with little major league experience, Hamilton at age 28 has emerged as a big part of the bullpen’s success. He’s pitching to a 2.00 ERA and 32 Ks in 27 innings.

GRADE: A

RON MARINACCIO

Finished the first half with a bad outing, taking the loss against the Cubs on Sunday, but Marinaccio has been another important depth piece in the bullpen. A bit up and down, he has a 3.60 ERA but with 47 strikeouts in 40 innings, he has gotten some big outs in key spots.

GRADE: B

TOMMY KAHNLE

Yanks signed him to a two-year, $11.5 million contract as a free agent, bringing him back to the Bronx for a second stint, and though his second season was delayed for two months by a biceps injury, he’s added still more depth to their loaded bullpen. In 15.1 innings he has yet to allow a run, featuring one of the best change-ups in the game.

GRADE: A

AARON JUDGE

His absence due to the toe injury has only made his value all the more obvious, as the Yankee offense has struggled badly without him. Judge was having another MVP-caliber season before the injury, with 19 home runs in 49 games, a .674 slugging percentage and a 1.074 OPS. Now the Yankees’ fate seems to hang on how quickly he returns.

GRADE: A

ANTHONY RIZZO

Rizzo was having an outstanding season, hitting .304 with 11 home runs on May 28 when he collided with Fernando Tatis Jr. on a pickoff throw at first base, injuring his neck. He only missed a few days but clearly hasn’t been anything close to the same hitter since then, hitting .168 with no home runs in June and July. A huge question mark going into the second half.

GRADE: C

GIANCARLO STANTON

It’s an old story by now: Stanton gets injured, misses significant time. Usually, however, he gets hot, carries the Yankees for a stretch when he returns but that hasn’t happened yet this season. In 41 games he’s hitting .203 with nine HRs. His lack of impact is reflected in his negative WAR number, which is -0.1.

GRADE: D

ANTHONY VOLPE

Maybe the infamous chicken parm night with former minor league teammates saved Volpe’s season. Maybe it got hitting coach Dillon Lawson fired as well. In any case, since the rookie shortstop watched some old video of himself that night and closed his stance, he hit .292 with a .667 slugging percentage over 15 games and likely avoided being sent to the minors. For the season the hot streak raised his average to .216 with 13 home runs and 16 stolen bases in 18 tries.

GRADE: C

GLEYBER TORRES

It’s clear by now that Torres is never going to be the superstar it seemed he might during his first couple of seasons, but he’s having a decent season, hitting .251 with 13 home runs and a .739 OPS. The problem is the vibe he gives off, too nonchalant/lacking in focus, which shows up via mental mistakes that hurt the ball club.

GRADE: C

DJ LEMAHIEU

Maybe the biggest disappointment of all: instead of the expected bounce-back from his injury-plagued 2022 season, LeMahieu had such a poor first half that he looks to be in steep decline at age 34. He’s hitting .220 with a .643 OPS, a huge disparity from his first couple of MVP-type seasons with the Yankees, but his last big year was 2020, a long time ago.

GRADE: D

JOSH DONALDSON

Yankee fans have focused their frustration primarily on Donaldson, booing him at every opportunity since his return from a hamstring injury. It’s not that the veteran third baseman has no value; he still plays good defense and with 10 home runs in 31 games he has a .465 slugging percentage. It’s that, rather astonishingly, he only has five other hits in his season, which adds up to a woeful .152 batting average.

GRADE: D

HARRISON BADER

The Bader trade looks like a win for Cashman, or at least it would if the center fielder could stay healthy. After his impactful postseason, Bader carried big expectations into this season but a hamstring injury cost him significant time and he played only 43 games in the first half. His center field defense is valuable to the Yankees and he’s hitting .257 with seven HRs, a .746 OPS.

GRADE: B-

JOSE TREVINO

The platinum glove winner still brings elite defense as the No. 1 catcher but his 2022 season with the bat is starting to look like an aberration. He’s hitting .211 with a .255 on-base percentage and four home runs, a lack of production the Yankees can hardly afford given the state of their offense.

GRADE: C

KYLE HIGASHIOKA

The backup catcher gives the Yankees a little more offense than Trevino. In 54 games Higashioka is hitting .239 with a .685 OPS, eight doubles and five HRs. As a result, he may get more playing time over the second half.

GRADE: B

ISIAH KINER-FALEFA

Hey, give him credit for willingly moving to the outfield after losing the shortstop job, and helping the Yankees win some games with some timely hits. But the lack of outfield experience has shown the more he’s out there, mostly in the form of some bad routes to fly balls, and he’s not hitting much, .255 with a .683 OPS.

GRADE: C-

OSWALDO CABRERA

The shine wore off pretty quickly in 2023, one year after Cabrera delivered energy and some production in his rookie season. He just hasn’t hit nearly enough to justify playing him in the outfield, where he’s below-average defensively. He’s hitting .204 with a .568 OPS in 74 games, with four HRs.

GRADE: D