Former Royals WS champ accidentally highlights Yankees failure before Verdugo signing

The 2024 New York Yankees were both top heavy and impressive. Aaron Judge and Juan Soto represented the greatest 1-2 lineup punch in recent league history. The rotation, whittled down as the year went on, was still strong enough (when paired with a clutch bullpen) to carve through the American League, thanks in large part to Gerrit Cole. The playoff field represented the lowest level of competition the Yankees have faced since 2017, but still, series wins are series wins. Bobby Witt Jr. and Jose Ramírez's teams went down. Judge and Soto's squad moved on.

"Imperfect" is a kind way to describe the rest of their cohorts, though, which was made painfully obvious when the Yankees kicked the ball around the diamond, flubbed opportunities, and came up a few runs short — and also a world away — in a five-game World Series defeat. Yes, Judge and Cole were also prominently involved in those flubs and that exposure.

There's a point to be made about the Yankees' roster being unfit for primetime last October, but that is not what outspoken former Kansas City Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer tried to argue this week.

Unfortunately, he took the wrong two former Yankees — Anthony Rizzo and Alex Verdugo — and tried to use them to prove a point about the free agency process.

Yankees' 2024 World Series odds likely would've increased with Alex Verdugo, Anthony Rizzo replacements. Sorry, Eric Hosmer.

Even though Verdugo just signed with the Braves, the deal he got didn't exactly express confidence in his ability to contribute.

Most agree the Yankees' supporting cast wasn't strong enough, and running out .647 and .637 OPS marks daily probably helped hasten their downfall. What Rizzo and Verdugo provided in defense and leadership didn't translate during the team's lowest moments.

Rizzo, who stepped things up in the ALCS, hitting .429, was as guilty of anyone of a World Series recession, hitting .125. He battled through fractured fingers, and maybe shouldn't have.

"How were they everyday guys for the New York Yankees?" is the right question. "Why hasn't anyone picked them up after they were the Yankees' weak spots in 2024?" is probably not the correct angle.

Of course, Hosmer — in the replies — focused on a different statistic instead of their OPS marks.

WAR might be confusing, complex, and tough to apply unilaterally to real-life situations. WAR might discount clubhouse contributions and intangibles. But that's barely even a part of this particular conversation. Last season, these players were 17% and 19% worse offensively than their average peers. That's difficult for a team to overcome, no matter how good the glove is, from one position.

Two? It's a wonder the Yankees made the World Series at all. Maybe we should be patting them on the back for getting there rather than scorning them for losing it, or shaming the free agent market for hemming and hawing on these two.