3 disappointing Yankees who have no hope to rebound in 2022

The 2022 New York Yankees have been a tale of two seasons. The most dominant team in all of MLB has turned into a doormat, and it’ll remain that way until the players on the field prove otherwise. Manager Aaron Boone can slam however many tables he wants until then. It might help, it might not.

The manager can only do so much. Maybe Boone’s not the best motivator/talent maximizer … but he’s not the one pitching poorly, failing to score runs, making egregious errors, or choking constantly in big spots. Fans can only scapegoat so much.

This team was 50-17 a couple months ago. They were getting timely hits, wearing down opposing pitching, and playing fundamental baseball. But then a few injuries hit and everything went off the rails.

That taught us one important thing we perhaps need to come to terms with: some of the struggling players on this roster in 2022 really have little-to-no shot of turning it around. If they couldn’t make it happen with a roster at full strength, how are they going to do it when they’re asked to do more when they can’t even fulfill the bare minimum?

As the going has continued to get tougher, they have kept withering. Sadly, Yankees fans won’t see what these players been capable of in years past. They’ll be eating up roster spots into October and more than likely affecting the team in detrimental fashion.

3 disappointing Yankees players who have no chance of rebounding in 2022

3. Josh Donaldson

In a trade that was supposed to reinvigorate the Yankees’ roster, general manager Brian Cashman traded Gary Sánchez and Gio Urshela to the Minnesota Twins for Josh Donaldson and Isiah Kiner-Falefa, two players who have arguably been just as bad/worse than the two he traded away.

Though IKF’s presence has helped Gleyber Torres return to second base and improve, Donaldson’s offered nothing beyond what Urshela already did. Donaldson’s defense is better, but his bobble at Fenway Park on what should have been a game-ending double play on July 9 has been the catalyst for the Yankees’ current run of garbage form. Since that game’s result, the Yankees are 13-25. Unbelievable.

Even worse, though, is Donaldson’s offensive output. Take out his walk-off on Opening Day and his walk-off grand slam against the Rays last week, and we’re really not sure what value he brings. He’s, by FAR, putting forth a career-worst season (.223/.305/.388 with 12 homers and 47 RBI) and is no longer the “agitator” the Yankees were hoping he’d be (another aspect of what should’ve contributed to his “value”).

If he’s been unable to catch fire with DJ LeMahieu, Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton and Anthony Rizzo all simultaneously tearing the cover off the ball, then there’s no sense of even hoping for a return to form. He’s been OPSing in the .600s most of this year. Expecting that to change over the next six weeks would be delusional.