2 Yankees performances to legitimately worry about, 2 that will go away soon

The New York Yankees are in the middle of their worst stretch of the entire season, that's for sure. Yankees fans are hoping that the end of said stretch is near, but there's no telling with spirals like these.

New York has lost 15 of its last 20 games, and there was a seven-game losing streak in there (which included getting swept at Fenway Park by the Boston Red Sox — a 2026 low point).

The absence of Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton has caught up to the Yankees' offense. Max Fried's absence has hurt, too, especially with some of New York's starters starting to show some mid-season fatigue.

But enough with the excuses. The Yankees still have a bunch of MLB players out there every game who should be holding down the fort better than they've been. Multiple guys are going through rough stretches (and/or entire seasons), unfortunately. Let's unpack a couple of those players who represent serious concern and two others who aren't worth worrying about, since they're bound to start excelling again in no time.

2 Yankees to be legitimately worried about during Summer Swoon

Camilo Doval

Doval's ugly outing on July 1 (in which he walked three batters in a single inning and took the loss) brought back to light the right-hander's command issues. It also reminded infuriated Yankees fans that Aaron Boone continues to trust Doval through all of the mediocrity, almost in a Volpian sort of way.

Doval's never established any consistency in a Yankees uniform. This is something to worry about for a fandbase hoping its team makes a serious run at a World Series this fall once Judge is back out there. The Boone element here is what makes all of this especially concerning. Can we trust the skipper to pack away his belief in Doval at some point? The answer is still no.

Austin Wells

The numbers (or lack thereof) speak for themselves. Wells is hitting .148 this season and .211 in his MLB career. What evidence do Yankees fans have to work with in attempting to form any remotely optimistic take on Wells' future?

Some Yankees observers (such as New York Post's Joel Sherman) feel that Wells would benefit from being sent down. The Yankees would surely benefit from that outcome, too, so long as they're able to acquire another catcher before the deadline.

Boone doesn't necessarily escape blame here, either, with some suggesting that he's been too easy on Wells throughout the last full calendar year of poor play.

2 Yankees whose poor performances shouldn't be a concern

Cody Bellinger

As long as Bellinger is healthy, he's way too talented to stay in his current slump for much longer, though it's been a bit excessive (.196 over his last 30 games). Belli looked like an MVP candidate for the first few months of the season, and his numbers are still pretty sturdy due to that excellent start.

This feels like a fatigue issue. Bellinger is a true two-way player that the Yankees rely on heavily, and that burden has been even heavier offensively since Judge, Stanton and others have been out. Belli's been nothing but comfortable in Yankees pinstripes since donning them last season. He'll be back in top form by August at the latest.

Ben Rice

Two home runs for Rice over his last three games already signal that he's breaking out of his slump (.179 over the last 15 games, .217 over the last 30 games). Even more so than Bellinger, Rice is just way too gifted a hitter to struggle for much longer, and we're already seeing that in this Rays series.

He'll need to turn it around fast, though, if the Yankees want to dig out of this hole that's starting to look like a grave.

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