The Yankees are a good team, but the same issues from 2025 are plaguing them

At 8-3 through April 8, the New York Yankees have one of the best records in baseball. Only the Los Angeles Dodgers rank ahead in the win column. It's fair to say that New York is off to a good start, but that doesn't mean there aren't some chinks in the armor that are already beginning to show.

This isn't meant to be alarmist, but it is important to be realistic. We've seen hot starts from the Yankees before, and we've seen them crash back down to earth during the summer as the warts that have been present all along come to the forefront.

To that end, it's reasonable to believe that the Yankees' offseason strategy of running it back will result in the same deficiencies coming to the forefront. Many of these shortcomings were on display during Tuesday night's 3-2 loss to the Athletics.

The Yankees' showing against Luis Severino and the A's proves that they haven't solved last year's bugaboos

One of the arguments the most optimistic contingent of the fan base clings to is that the Yankees had the best offense in baseball last year. While true, it ignores how much of the heavy lifting Aaron Judge did in his ridiculous 2025 campaign to bring the overall performance to such lofty heights.

This year, Judge hasn't gotten off to the hottest start. That's not the concern; instead, the same issues as last year have plagued the lineup. Ryan McMahon and the bottom of the lineup have been abysmal to start the season and have shown no improvement.

The Yankees aren't concerned. After losing the weekend series finale against the Miami Marlins and watching the six-through-nine spots in the order go 2-for-17, Aaron Boone said, “We need to get more production there, and we will.”

Do we believe him? Not entirely. Jazz Chisholm Jr. probably turns it around, but guys like McMahon, Austin Wells, and Jose Caballero are reasons to have pause. Judge has been human so far with an .828 OPS, while the team has posted a .696 mark through Wednesday night's action. That's all the proof you need to realize how much he elevates the overall stat line when he's hitting like the best hitter on the planet.

In addition to the bottom half of the lineup struggling, New York's hitters have failed to deliver the big blow when needed. The Yankees had Luis Severino, who gave up four hits and five walks through five innings, on the ropes several times, but failed to deliver the knockout punch to break the game open. In total against Severino and a parade of A's relievers, New York went 1-for-7 with RISP and scored just two runs.

Shoddy defense has also been a recurring theme. The Yankees finished 2025 ranked 18th with seven collective outs above average and 13th with a fielding run value of 8. The 94 errors they committed were the seventh-most in baseball. So far this year, they're 17th with 0 OAA, 14th with 0 FRV, and 15th with seven errors. Two of those seven came against the Athletics, though neither resulted in a run scoring, fortunately.

The Yankees do sometimes make the highlight reel play, like Chisholm's diving grab to rob Nick Kurtz of a single, but if they aren't making the routine plays consistently enough, the impact of those "wow" plays is greatly diminished.

Lastly, the bullpen usage is a concern. The Yankees relievers have thrown a league-low 39 innings, but they've also played at least one fewer game than most teams. The bullpen's 42 appearances are the 12th most in MLB, and while the unit has performed well overall, overuse is a real concern.

Will Warren and Ryan Weathers have failed to go deep into games so far, and Cam Schlittler was on a limited pitch count to begin the year. It's also important to remember that it's not necessarily how many innings they throw, but how often the relievers are getting up and heating up, even if they don't come into the game. We've also seen David Bednar rack up some egregiously high pitch counts, like the 21 he threw in a losing effort on Wednesday and his 40-pitch save in Seattle, proving that some innings are more strenuous than others.

This isn't to say the sky is falling or that the Yankees are doomed. However, these are real concerns that date back to last year, making them less likely to be a byproduct of small sample sizes early in the season. Because of that, they'll be important to monitor, and the Yankees will have to make improvements to avoid slumping down the line.