Was the first half of the season a success for the Yankees?

NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 14: Manager, Aaron Boone #17 of the New York Yankees talks to Aaron Judge #99 before the game against the Los Angeles Angels at Yankee Stadium on April 14, 2026 in New York, New York. (Photo by New York Yankees/Getty Images) | Getty Images The MLB All-Star Game is here, and we’l

What is the story about?

The MLB All-Star Game is here, and we’ll get to see the brightest stars in the league square off with each other tonight. The game marks the (approximate) mid point of the MLB season, which makes it as good a time as ever to reflect on where we are, where we’ve been, and where we’re going.

A four-game winning streak salvaged the vibes for the Yankees heading into the break, but they nearly wrapped up their first half in a state of catastrophe. Their annual summer swoon struck yet again, with a seven-game

losing streak threatening to torpedo what was once an extremely promising season. It leaves the team in an interesting spot. They blew a sizable division lead (a couple of times!), but also closed strong, and are only three games back of the first-place Rays. At the end of the day, we have to ask: was the Yankees’ first half a success?

The team’s swoon from late June into July could’ve made this a clear “No”, but I think there’s a compelling case to be made that the first half was, on balance, very positive for the Bronx Bombers. At the core of that argument is the club’s pure performance. Sure, the Yankees’ 54-42 record is more good than great, and not on the same level as the top teams in the league, the Dodgers and Brewers, who have paced MLB over in the Junior Circuit. But any other descriptive statistic beyond wins and losses suggests the Yankees’ caliber of play was closer to those NL juggernauts than their record would suggest.

For one, the Yankees have scored 462 runs, fourth best in MLB, and allowed 371, fifth best in MLB. Those totals are the best marks in the American League, and their resulting +91 run differential is the best in the AL as well. I’m sure many fans are sick of hearing about how the Yankees have hamstrung themselves with a poor record in one-run games and extra-innings contest, but the fact of the matter is, championship contenders reveal themselves less by finding a way to narrowly win games, and more by showing the ability to dominate their foes. The Yankees have struggled with the former but have been among the league’s best at the latter; outside of the summer swoon, the Yankees were blowing out opponents as consistently as any team in baseball, and that’s reflected in their excellent scoring differential.

Moreover, if we drill down to the individual player level, there’s been plenty of good news. Ben Rice has been one of the best hitters in the league. Cody Bellinger has started off his five-year deal in great form, his 3.7 rWAR near the top of the outfield leaderboard in spite of a deep recent slump. Cam Schlittler might be the best pitcher in the AL, and his primary opponent for the AL Cy Young Award was rotation-mate Max Fried before Fried went down with injury. Injuries have been an issue for the rotation, sure, with Fried hurt, Carlos Rodón down, and Gerrit Cole coming in late and still adjusting after Tommy John surgery. But it’s a testament to the staff’s depth that the Yankees had three pitchers as excellent as Cole, Rodón, and Fried miss significant chunks of the season and still managed to lead MLB in ERA.

No, not everything has been perfect. The left side of the infield has been shaky for New York, Jazz Chisholm Jr. has had an up-and-down year, and the catching situation has been an absolute eyesore for almost the entire season. On top of all that, the Yankees’ talisman, their foundation, Aaron Judge, injured his rib in early May and played through pain until succumbing in early June. Yet as bad as it is for the Yankees to lose their Captain for what looks like it’ll be a two-month stretch at minimum, it’s possible to look at even this development in a positive light. Before injury, Judge, at the age of 34, was still by most measures the best hitter in baseball or very close to it, and what for him was a terrible, injury-caused slump only managed to bring his season OPS+ to 151. The Yankees want and need a healthy Judge back, but they can take heart in the fact that he still looked great, if not quite as great as 2024-2025, before he got hurt in 2026.

The Yankees’ scheduled summer slump was (is?) still incredibly frustrating, and many of the warts that have plagued them in the Aaron Judge/Aaron Boone era remain. But the team on the whole has performed, in my estimation, better than could have been expected thus far. They’ve had the best overall production in the AL in the first half, and project to do the same in the second half. What do you think? Is that enough to call the first half a success, or did you need to see more?

The All-Star Game is here, and we’ll have full coverage of the matchup between AL and NL tonight courtesy of Jeremy. Earlier on, you can check Michael’s invaluable weekly minor league recap, as well as Jonathan’s entry in the Yankees Birthday series, on Johnny Murphy, a quietly important member of the early Yankee dynasties. Later, Dan Kelly provides some trenchant commentary on the Yankees’ 2026 draft, and Peter gives his At-bat of the Week.