Many questions surrounded General Manager Brian Cashman regarding a rather uneventful Trade Deadline for the Yankees. New York has been one of the worst offensive teams in baseball, with their biggest inconsistencies occurring in left field. They’ve dealt with injuries to some key players including Aaron Judge, Luis Severino, Carlos Rodon and Nestor Cortes Jr. The Yankees are five games out of a playoff spot after Wednesday's loss against the Chicago White Sox. So now the question: Are the New York Yankees a playoff team, and should you bet on this team to make a World Series run?
According to fangraphs.com, the Yankees have a 9% chance to make the playoffs, and 0.5% chance to win the World Series. The betting odds are +700 to make the playoffs and +11000 odds to win the World Series. A major piece of information to consider if you bet on the Yankees to make the playoffs is their record against the AL East, currently, two of the three teams ahead of the Yankees are the Red Sox, one game ahead, and the Blue Jays, five games ahead with the final Wild Card spot. Both teams are in the AL east, who the Yankees are 15-21 against. However, the Blue Jays are even worse than that with an abysmal 11-23 record. The Yankees still have two more series against their rivals in September, games that can determine who plays in October.
The talent the Yankees have is undoubtable, but it just hasn’t come together for the Bombers this season. Last series against the Chicago White Sox, the Yankees were 3 for 26 with runners in scoring position and seemed allergic to scoring runs with the bases loaded. Yet, despite the offensive struggles, they statistically have the best bullpen in baseball and the best pitcher in baseball, which means they could feasibly have a chance at a playoff run if the talent finally comes together.
So are the Yankees a smart bet? Well it depends on how you look at it. If you value team and player track record, then betting on a Yankees playoff run would be pretty smart considering that almost every player on that roster besides Anthony Volpe has been apart of a playoff push and run.
But when you look at the teams the Yankees trail: Boston, Seattle, and Toronto, their play has simply been a bit more inviting and consistent. Whereas the Yankees have dealt with an offensive slump for two months now.
Based on that, betting on the Yankees to make the Postseason falls in the category of ambitious, low risk-high reward, which could be a smart bet. But for the first time in what has felt like years, we might not see the Yankees in October.
