The New York Yankees have dug themselves into a significant hole against the Toronto Blue Jays but they still have a chance to come out of it.
The series will move to the Bronx for Tuesday’s game with the Yankees down 2-0, and anticipation is building around a must-win matchup. A relatively early playoff exit would be a major letdown, particularly as superstar slugger Aaron Judge has recorded yet another stellar personal season.
“The Division Series is not over, but the Yankees are one loss away from another season of failing to win a title with Aaron Judge at the peak of his powers,” Ken Rosenthal noted for The Athletic.
The Yankees will likely reload and reset championship expectations over the winter even if they do fall to the Blue Jays. But the highest-paid staples around Judge, like Giancarlo Stanton and Gerrit Cole, have struggled with injuries that could get more frequent as time goes on.
When asked about his future outlook with the team as the Yankees sit on the brink, Cole was clear about his level of urgency around the team’s championship window.
“I’m not concerned,” Cole told Rosenthal. “The track record of (the Yankees) putting a team out there that has the potential to make the playoffs every year, go deep in the playoffs and win the World Series is rather great. You mentioned some of the aging players. We have a lot of good young players, too.”
With emerging stars like Ben Rice and Cam Schlittler looking to contribute even more next season, Cole has good reason to be optimistic about returning to a roster with championship aspirations again next year. But with Judge wrapping up another Most Valuable Player Award caliber season, the Yankees must also feel like their chances to win it all can’t get much better than they were when entering this campaign.
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