Author: Deesha Thosar

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NEW YORK — The feeling of heartbreak consumed the Yankees as they said their goodbyes.

Players were still in full uniform 55 minutes after they saw their championship dreams come to a halt, giving long hugs and clapping hands with the trainers, staff members, coaches, and clubhouse attendance who were on the 170-game journey with them. Some players had tears in their eyes as they embraced each other, others were still in shock. Some of them smiled in gratitude for how far they had come, others were static and pissed off at the bitter end.

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“I think falling short in the World Series will stick with me until I die,” Aaron Judge said.

“This is as bad as it gets,” Gerrit Cole said. “It’s the worst feeling you can have.”

“I’ll remember the way I feel right now for the rest of my life,” Anthony Volpe said.

[RELATED: Full coverage of the World Series] 

The loss desolated the clubhouse. A special season that started 5-0 effectively ended in the fifth inning of Game 5 of the Fall Classic. The worst defensive inning in World Series history will stick in the minds of the Yankees and their fans for however many more Octobers it will take for the club to follow through on its promise to deliver the franchise’s 28th championship. Yes, the cracks that led to their tragic ending were that unforgettable, that unforgivable.

Judge’s dropped catch on a routine fly ball to center field. Volpe’s fielding error at shortstop. Anthony Rizzo’s unhurried reaction to a ground ball. Cole’s failure to cover first base.

The Yankees became the first team in Major League Baseball history, across the regular season and the postseason, to blow a five-run lead, surrender at least five unearned runs, commit three errors, a balk and a catcher’s interference all in the same game. Any one of those misplays would be bad enough in the excusable setting of a 162-game season. But this was a World Series game where the Yankees were facing elimination, and they embarrassed themselves out of a chance to extend the series back to Los Angeles. The Dodgers will be enjoying a championship parade on Friday, the same day Game 6 of the World Series was supposed to occur.

When asked what the Yankees have learned from the World Series, Giancarlo Stanton said: “Just never to have this feeling again. Any type of focus, miscues, or anything, just to up the level in all aspects.”

The 2024 Yankees entered the postseason as one of the worst defensive teams in the major leagues. Their 93 errors were the third-most in the American League, and seventh-highest overall. All year long, we saw New York’s stars take bad angles on fly balls and commit fielding and throwing errors in the outfield and the infield. Judge had the worst metric on the team for Outs Above Average with -6, and Juan Soto was right behind him with -5. Gleyber Torres‘ 18 errors were the most among all qualified second basemen in the majors. Judge’s -9 Defensive Runs Saved ranked 14th out of 16 qualified center fielders in MLB. Their .984 fielding percentage as a team ranked 24th in MLB.

The Yankees left the World Series showing the national audience that, until the very end, they were incapable of playing sound fundamental baseball. 

“I think from a PFP (Pitchers Fielding Practice) standpoint we’re pretty good,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said on that horrific fifth inning. “It’s always magnified when obviously in a moment it doesn’t happen. I’d have to look for sure, but from a pitching standpoint, we’re pretty good at those kinds of things. Those are tough plays to be super consistent at, especially when you have 12, 15, at times 20 different pitchers kind of rolling through with different skill sets. Some we work hard at. Obviously, we had a rough inning tonight.”

Where do the Yankees go from here?

They can start by cleaning up their act. As much as Boone is beloved in the Yankees organization, his response to his team’s inability to play sharp baseball is as much a problem as his apparent indifference to their lack of discipline and preparation. The Yankees need a fearless leader and a coaching staff that will criticize their misplays and help fix the smaller details that can prevent a meltdown like the fifth inning of Game 5. We saw too many mental mistakes and lapses in focus this season that could’ve been avoided. The Yankees need someone to keep applying pressure in order to maximize their efforts, not someone who will nonchalantly accept the status quo.

This was the final guaranteed year of Boone’s three-year deal. The Yankees have a team option on him for 2025, and it remains unclear if they’ll take it.

Beyond leadership, the Yankees face questions about the strength of their roster with key players hitting free agency.

Soto, the guy who had the best OPS (1.085), the highest batting average (.313), drew the most walks (7) and scored the most runs in the World Series for the Yankees no longer has any loyalty to the team. It will be brutal for the Yankees if they lose him to another club (worse still, if he goes to the crosstown rivals) this winter. Outfielder Alex Verdugo could also leave in free agency, so the Yankees could be faced with the task of replacing both of their corner outfielders, with only top prospect Jasson Dominguez as an obvious alternative.

Torres has been involved in trade rumors seemingly every offseason in his seven years with the Yankees. He’s now a free agent, and even though he was solid in the final month of the regular season and in the playoffs after moving up to the leadoff spot, it has always seemed likely that he would sign with another team. Rizzo likely played his final game in pinstripes, too. With the calamity of that fifth inning fresh in their minds, it would be in the Yankees’ best interests to prioritize a younger, faster, and more athletic first baseman to post up every day.

Cole could theoretically opt out of his contract and reach the open market. But since he’s in line to continue earning $36 million every year through 2028, he seems likely to stay with the Yankees. It’s tough to imagine a scenario where another team matches or tops that average annual value. Right-hander Clay Holmes is now a free agent, and after the Yankees demoted him from closer duties for the more lights-out performances of Luke Weaver, it’s unlikely there will be a reunion in the Bronx.

There will be a lot of changes this offseason. 

“The way we handled ourselves in the clubhouse, I think it was really special for me,” Soto said. “That was one of the things I enjoyed most. Coming in every day and hanging out with guys that I literally can call them family.”

The 2024 Yankees family went through it all this year. Volpe broke out in the playoffs, and he and rookie catcher Austin Wells provided hope for the future. Stanton became the first Yankee player ever to hit seven home runs in a single postseason. Weaver’s unexpected late-game dominance was a welcome surprise. Right-hander Luis Gil could be an important staple of the Yankees rotation for years to come. Jazz Chisholm Jr. fit right into the mayhem that is the Bronx scene, and he’s under team control for two more years.

So, it’s not all doom and gloom for the Yankees, even though it might feel that way for a while. But they have a lot of work to do this offseason and beyond to get back to the World Series and try and close the gap with the Dodgers. Once pitchers and catchers report to spring training in a few months, the Yankees will have no choice but to turn their pain into motivation and try to move on from a feeling they said they’d remember forever.

Deesha Thosar is an MLB reporter for FOX Sports. She previously covered the Mets as a beat reporter for the New York Daily News. The daughter of Indian immigrants, Deesha grew up on Long Island and now lives in Queens. Follow her on Twitter at @DeeshaThosar.

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NEW YORK — It was an hour into Halloween before Juan Soto finally divulged his thoughts and feelings about his free agency. The time was fitting, since the scariest thing that could happen to the Yankees would be the generational talent walking away and signing with another team. 

That’s certainly more of a reality now than it was when the Yankees walked into the stadium Wednesday morning. Moments after the Yankees lost the World Series to the Dodgers, Soto was already talking about New York in the past tense.

“Leaving any place that is a winning team is always hard,” Soto said. “Definitely, this place was very special. It’s been a blast for me. I’ve been really happy. Definitely, if I’m here or not, I’ll be really happy for the things that happened and the people that I got to know in here. This was a really special group. But at the end of the day, we will see what’s going to happen.”

[RELATED: Full coverage of the World Series] 

Soto, for all intents and purposes, entered free agency as he was speaking to reporters in the clubhouse, even though he was still wearing his fitted Yankees cap and team-branded performance shirt. He is now the sport’s most coveted young free-agent since Álex Rodríguez hit the open market in the winter of 2000. Early Thursday morning was the first time Soto openly discussed his emotions about free agency — which is his first opportunity to explore and decide on his future since he sprang into the major leagues in 2018. 

He didn’t hold back.

“I don’t know the teams that want to come after me,” Soto said. “But definitely, I’ll be open to listening to every single team. I don’t have any doors closed, or anything like that. I’m going to be available for all 30 teams.”

As frosty as Soto’s words might sound to the Bronx faithful, it was clear that he was emotional in what might be his final moments as a Yankee. After the final out of the World Series, Soto watched the Dodgers celebrate on the field that he called home for seven months, and then he went up to the top step of the dugout. He took a second, then pointed up toward the sky. 

Soto was the last player to leave the Yankees dugout. 

“This is going to stay in my heart for the rest of my life,” he said. “This group of guys. This year was really special for me.”

His eyes welled up when he was asked what was going through his mind during that moment in the dugout. Besides admitting that he was feeling a lot of emotions, he kept the rest to himself. 

“I think everybody in the room wants him back,” Aaron Judge said. “You can look at the stats and what he did on the field. I think the type of leader he is in this clubhouse. He just does a lot of the little things that people don’t notice that truly make him one of the best players, if not the best player in the game. 

“I definitely enjoyed getting the chance to have a front row seat all season long — watching his at-bats, watching his approach. The way he would talk about certain pitchers and how they would attack him and what he’s looking for. He’s a scientist up there. Definitely would love to see him in pinstripes for quite a long time.”

Giancarlo Stanton had only three words for Soto on the precipice of free agency: “Stay with us.”

Yankees team owner Hal Steinbrenner will have to pay up for that to happen. Soto is expected to command more than $500 million in what is sure to be a wild free agency. The four-time All-Star outfielder finished his walk year with the fourth-best fWAR (8.1) in the major leagues. He crushed a career-best 41 home runs and posted a .989 OPS across 157 games. Soto said the team that signs him will get a guy who plays hard every day and will be the best version of himself in the clubhouse and outside of it, inmploring prospective suitors to ask any of his teammates how much he cares about winning.

Judge hoped that Soto enjoyed his time in pinstripes, because the four-time Silver Slugger certainly brought a lot of joy to the Yankees. 

“I think he got a little taste of the excitement here, the history here,” Judge said. “What it truly means to be a Yankee, he fit every single category. It’s difficult coming to a new team. He spoke up many times in this clubhouse, in meetings. It’s little things like that that people don’t see. But this guy has no fear. He wants to be a leader. He wants to be in the spotlight. He wants to have those big moments. And when you’re a Yankee you’re going to be put in those situations. 

“I would love to have him back. But I’m going to give him time to think about it. Do what he needs to do with his family, and we’ll see what happens.” 

What will Soto prioritize in free agency? 

Playing for a winning team is of the utmost importance to the 26-year-old. Even if his organization is not the last team standing, he emphasized how much he wants to play in the World Series every year. In that regard, the Yankees could fit the description. But when Soto was asked whether they might have a leg up over other interested teams, especially given that he enjoyed a career year in the Bronx and helped take the club to the Fall Classic, he didn’t hesitate to throw ice-cold water on that presumption. 

“I feel like every team has the same opportunities when I’m going to free agency,” Soto said. “I don’t want to say any team has any advantage.”

From now until the time Soto signs, everyone will be looking for signs of where he’ll spend the next part of his career. Since he’s a Scott Boras client, we already know that the superagent has a tendency to wait it out until teams give him their best and highest offers. Last year, several of Boras’ top free agents didn’t sign until the middle or end of spring training in March. Soto is fully prepared for that same process and outcome with his own free agency.

“It’s all about the teams, how far they want to take it and how much they want to go back and forth,” Soto said. “I’m here. They are the ones that have to come over. We’re going to be waiting until somebody comes over. I can’t control if any team wants to call in February. So, we will see what happens. They know where I’m at.”

Yankees fans were loud all year about wanting Soto to stay in pinstripes. Some showed up to the ballpark with blank checks, or the dollar amount filled out to $700 million and counting. When asked if their gestures will have any impact on his decision this winter, Soto laughed before retorting, “It will probably impact the decision of the ownership.” 

It’s hard to imagine the Yankees advancing to their first World Series since 2009 this year without the iconic duo of Soto and Judge leading them there. All year, Soto looked like the final puzzle piece to a Yankees team that had been unable to get over the hump without him. They got as far as Game 5 of the Fall Classic against a Dodgers superteam that looked destined to win it all the moment they bet the house on Shohei Ohtani. 

Will Soto be able to easily walk away from all that he built with the Yankees this year? Will the Yankees really let him? Those two questions will follow every step of what is sure to be one of the most extraordinary free-agent signings in the history of Major League Baseball.

Stay tuned. This is only the beginning.

Deesha Thosar is an MLB reporter for FOX Sports. She previously covered the Mets as a beat reporter for the New York Daily News. The daughter of Indian immigrants, Deesha grew up on Long Island and now lives in Queens. Follow her on Twitter at @DeeshaThosar.

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NEW YORK — The bigger the spotlight on his individual efforts, the softer Anthony Volpe’s voice gets. 

When the Yankees shortstop is asked about his performance in a given game, he tends to brush off the magnitude of his heroics before redirecting the spotlight onto his teammates. That’s how it went late Tuesday night, moments after he hit a grand slam for his first career playoff home run and was brought into the Yankees press conference room to discuss it.

Even though this wasn’t just a typical grand slam — it gave the Yankees a much-needed early lead over the Dodgers in an elimination Game 4 of the World Series — Volpe sat at the podium with the same shy demeanor and soft-spoken voice that he’s exhibited since his major-league debut last year. Only when he was asked to trace his Yankees fandom did the 23-year-old sit up a little straighter and look more confident, more self-assured, in front of the cameras and bright lights. 

“My grandfather, the Yankees are more than just a team or an organization for him,” Volpe said. “Because his father fought in World War II when he was little, and by the time he got back, his mom basically told him, ‘This is your dad.’ He didn’t know him, didn’t recognize him, didn’t know anything. The way he says it, the way he got to know and get to know his father was, he sat on his lap every single night, and they listened to the Yankees together. So, for him, it’s more than sports.”

It’s a story he’s told before, but never on the grandest national stage, when there are more eyeballs and attention on the second-year shortstop than he’s ever experienced. Volpe’s shy nature means we might never know, at least not for a while, how much this grand slam that sparked an 11-4 win blowout actually meant to him. But seeing him discuss his teammates’ feats more than his own, and hearing him retell the story of how much the Yankees organization means to his family, it’s easy to see that Volpe’s driving force as an athlete is centered on working hard for the people around him. 

If they’re winning, then he is too. 

[RELATED: Full coverage of the World Series] 

“I love him, he’s like a little brother to me,” Anthony Rizzo said of Volpe. “He works so hard. He cares so much about his teammates. He never really gets down. So, for him to have that moment in the World Series, hometown kid, it’s pretty special.”

The Yankees forced a Game 5 against the Dodgers not by the hands of Juan Soto, Aaron Judge or Giancarlo Stanton. On a chilly Tuesday night in the Bronx, it was the Baby Bombers who came through in the most important game of their careers to date. 

After Volpe, Yankees rookie catcher Austin Wells is the third-youngest player on the Yankees’ World Series roster. He was 0-for-8 at the plate in the Fall Classic when Yankees manager Aaron Boone benched him for Game 3. Rizzo said it was hard for Wells to watch from the dugout, especially as the Yankees fell behind 3-0 in the Series, but it only made how he responded Tuesday that much more impactful. 

Wells ripped a 406-foot double off the padding in center field in his first at-bat of the night, then crushed a solo shot to right field to lead off the sixth. Not only did the rookie’s second home run of the postseason double a Yankees lead that had been trimmed to one, it reminded the 49,354 fans in attendance that, no matter how this World Series ends, the Yankees’ future will be bright behind Volpe and Wells. 

“It’s not really a friendship anymore. It’s a brotherhood,” Volpe said of his relationship with Wells. “We’ve been through it all together. The highest of highs, and at some point, the lowest of lows. He’s my first call, my last call. I know he has my back through thick and thin. To have a moment like that, for him to have a moment like that is special. But to do it together, you can’t trade it for anything.”

The Yankees catcher echoed Volpe’s sentiment, and added that it was clear to him as soon as he got to know the shortstop in the Yankees’ minor-league system that they had the same goals of being able to contribute to a historic franchise. Neither of them wanted to be superstars, per se. They just wanted to help the Yankees win another title, even if all they provided were modest contributions. Alas, Volpe’s clutch at-bat was anything but. 

Wells said Volpe’s grand slam in the third inning — which followed another Freddie Freeman two-run home run in the first — allowed the Yankees to take a deep breath, relax and enjoy playing baseball. He said his teammates were just waiting for that “one big swing” to break out of the funk that had marked three consecutive World Series losses. 

“I think the situation we were in, we just kind of needed to say screw it and go after it and have fun because some guys may never come back to the World Series again,” Wells said. “So, just enjoying the game, and I think that allowed us to play a lot looser tonight.”

It’s well known by now that Volpe grew up in New Jersey rooting for the Bronx Bombers and idolizing Derek Jeter. Now that he’s effectively in Jeter’s shoes, the pressure to excel at the highest level, in front of the largest media market in the world, all while getting scrutinized for every misplay, big or small, can be a lot. Perhaps some of the tension got to Volpe in the second inning, when he misread Wells’ long double and looked to tag up from second before having to hold at third. 

Volpe ended up touching home plate on Alex Verdugo’s RBI groundout, and he more than made up for his gaffe with his grand slam. But he still took accountability after the game: “That’s completely on me.” Initially frustrated with himself, Volpe relaxed after his teammates reminded him through their own excellent at-bats in Game 4 that they’d pick him up. 

Sometimes, his quiet demeanor makes him come off as one of the most serious guys on the Yankees roster. But left-hander Nestor Cortes set the record straight.

“He’s got a little fire in him. A little zest,” Cortes said. “He’s a little sassy. He’s becoming a little slicker, which is good. It’s good for him. He came up as a highly touted prospect. A lot of people expected him to be the next Jeter. That’s very hard to do. I think he’s gonna become a really good player — he already is. But I think he’s going to embrace who he is and write his own narrative and chapter here. He doesn’t have to follow who Jeter was.”

Volpe was excellent in this postseason even before he became the fourth-youngest player to hit a grand slam in the World Series. He entered the Fall Classic batting .310 with eight walks, six runs scored and an .804 OPS in nine playoff games. Now, the shortstop is the Yankees’ World Series RBI leader with five. More importantly, he’s the biggest reason there will be a Game 5 of the World Series on Wednesday. 

Maybe as he logs more moments like his grand slam, he’ll stand up a little taller, speak a little louder, and come out of his shell. 

But what Volpe’s shown us so far in his young career is that he doesn’t need the big spotlight or the outrageous comparisons to a Yankees Hall of Famer to come up clutch for his team. 

He just needs to be himself.

“The more he does it, the more he needs to go out there and talk,” Cortes said. “The more he becomes the player of the game, I think you’ll see his personality a little more.”

Deesha Thosar is an MLB reporter for FOX Sports. She previously covered the Mets as a beat reporter for the New York Daily News. The daughter of Indian immigrants, Deesha grew up on Long Island and now lives in Queens. Follow her on Twitter at @DeeshaThosar.

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NEW YORK — The stadium started emptying out in the seventh inning. Beating traffic became more valuable than staying through the end of a hopeless playoff game that cost the equivalent of a mortgage to attend. The product the Yankees put on the field for their first home World Series game in 15 years was so underwhelming that being anywhere else was better than sticking around until the end. 

The Yankees looked like a team that still hadn’t recovered from Freddie Freeman’s walk-off grand slam in Game 1. So, when the same guy hit a two-run shot in the first inning of Game 3, the cut was deep. 

The atmosphere in the Bronx seemed to mirror the mood in the home dugout: sapped of faith and energy. 

“It’s all on the line for a championship,” a flashing message on the center-field jumbotron reminded the weary crowd. Apparently, the players didn’t see it.

They say it’s not over until the fat lady sings. In the Yankees’ case, Fat Joe already sang. 

“​​We just gotta keep relying on each other and keep playing the game we’ve played all year long,” Yankees captain Aaron Judge said. “Keep playing the game that got us into this position.”

[RELATED: Full coverage of the World Series] 

There was no sense of urgency for the Yankees on Monday as they lost 4-2 to the Dodgers, which dropped them to 0-3 in the World Series, perhaps because what we’ve seen so far is the best they’ve got. The Yankees reached the World Series by knocking out the Royals and the Guardians, two teams that were defeated by New York even when it wasn’t doing everything right. Against those two clubs, the Yankees got away with their inattention to detail. Against the superteam Dodgers — who have outplayed the Yankees via a deeper lineup, superior rotation, sharper defense and better bullpen — the Yankees’ flaws are being exposed.

One of their pitfalls all year was their response when things got ugly. When the Yankees went 5-16 over a 21-game period this summer, they were making mistakes on the basepaths, committing errors on defense, and playing nonchalantly on top of it. Spectacular individual performances from Judge and Juan Soto were nice distractions. But we’ve seen the Yankees need longer than a seven-game stretch to climb out of their slump before collectively returning to timely hitting and pitching. 

So, when the Yankees tell us this is part of who they’ve been all year, we should believe them. The version of the Yankees they need to be now is the one that shows emotion, gets fired up, and cleans up its act from the first pitch to the last. The Yankees have to look alive to keep this World Series going. They can try waking up by being honest about who they’ve been for most of the year: a team that acts as the supporting cast to the starring roles of a few top players. The formula leads to wins only when the stars come through for the team. 

Interested to know who the Dodgers are? Just watch how they played in the first three games of the World Series. 

Freddie Freeman has now hit a home run in each of the first three games in this Fall Classic. Shohei Ohtani, playing Game 3 with a partially dislocated left shoulder, found a way to get on base despite being in obvious pain. Walker Buehler carried a no-hitter into the fourth inning and recorded his second career World Series start featuring at least five innings, no runs allowed and two or fewer hits. 

Los Angeles’ starters have a 1.62 ERA against New York, compared to a 6.00 ERA from a Yankees’ rotation that was supposed to be superior. The Dodgers have scored twice as many runs as the Yankees (14-7). 

“There’s just gotta be urgency,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “I just don’t want to let these guys up for air.”

It shows. The mentality that Roberts has plugged into his clubhouse has the Dodgers one win away from sweeping the World Series.

“If that team wins three in a row,” Yankees outfielder Alex Verdugo said of the Dodgers, “then why can’t we win three in a row?”

Sure, technically, there’s nothing stopping the Yankees from winning three straight and forcing a Game 7. But who that has watched this flawed team play all year actually believes they can? Even if the Yankees internally believe they could still stun the world and pull it off, that would require a sense of urgency and fight from the Bronx Bombers; two crucial championship qualities that they failed to summon in Game 3, which the World Series’ 122-year history assures was a must-win situation. 

The Yankees have grown less competitive in each game of this series. Their at-bats on Monday were mostly passive until, down to their final out and trailing by four runs, Verdugo hit a two-run home run off right-hander Michael Kopech. Three of the Yankees’ four runs in Games 2 and 3 — and four of their nine hits — didn’t arrive until the ninth inning. That’s not a good thing. It only gives manager Aaron Boone permission to spout tired lines about his team persevering until the last out despite their deficits proving to be insurmountable. 

If that’s New York’s version of a fight, the Dodgers can win the next round — and finish this bout — even after taking the first punches. 

“Credit to them that they’ve been able to hold us down and control us,” Boone said. “Then, when we have had some opportunities, we haven’t cashed in. Ultimately, that’s what this comes down to.” 

At least the Mets knocked these Dodgers down. Known as the Yankees’ stepbrothers, the Mets didn’t give an inch in their National League Championship Series with L.A. — they were just overmatched when it came to roster talent. The Mets’ hitting and pitching paled in comparison to the Yankees’ in the regular season, and yet they forced six games out of the Dodgers and a return trip to Los Angeles. 

The Yankees look like they’re ready to go home. 

The only MLB team to ever climb out of a 3-0 hole in a best-of-seven series is the 2004 Red Sox, who won the final four games of the 2004 ALCS against the Yankees en route to winning the World Series. Not exactly a memory that will make the Yankees feel warm and fuzzy, right? But a couple of years back, the Yankees tried drawing inspiration from their division rivals when they watched Red Sox highlights from that 2004 ALCS in an attempt to get out of their own 3-0 hole against the Astros in the 2022 ALCS. It didn’t work, and not just because that was a comical idea in the first place. Houston wound up sweeping them out of the playoffs that year.

Two years later, the Yankees are on the brink of being swept again, except this time it will be much more excruciating if they don’t leave everything they’ve got on the field. They’re already the first World Series team in 12 years to drop the first three games. What will be remembered, though, is if they become the first pennant winner since the 2012 Tigers to be swept (by the Giants). It’s a distinction the Dodgers look primed — itching, even — to deliver Tuesday.

“We know the odds are stacked against us,” Yankees southpaw Nestor Cortes said. “But this team is too resilient. I think we showed enough fight in us to come back. If there’s a team out there that can do it, that’ll be us.”

We’ll believe it when we see it. 

Deesha Thosar is an MLB reporter for FOX Sports. She previously covered the Mets as a beat reporter for the New York Daily News. The daughter of Indian immigrants, Deesha grew up on Long Island and now lives in Queens. Follow her on Twitter at @DeeshaThosar.

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LOS ANGELES — Some of the reasons behind the Yankees sinking into a 0-2 hole against the Dodgers were predictable.

Carlos Rodón has had turbulent outings this postseason, and he had another one Saturday in Game 2 of the World Series. At least a couple of Yankees players have struggled defensively all year, and those repeat offenders showed up again this weekend at Chavez Ravine. The regular season routinely featured poor production from the bottom of New York’s lineup, and that was a problem in each of the first two games of the Series. 

But none of those factors are as flagrant as the biggest one — the one that the Yankees seem unprepared to overcome.

[RELATED: Full coverage of the World Series] 

Aaron Judge is lost at the plate. 

He’s striking out more often than he’s getting on base. He’s chasing pitches he would typically watch fly out of the zone. He’s rocking back and forth in the batter’s box — which, according to Yankees hitting coach James Rowson, means he’s trying to find his rhythm — rather than standing frozen and locked in like he did during his record-breaking regular season. He’s whiffing at mistakes that he would normally punish for home runs. 

Simply put, he’s not doing his job.

And when the Yankees are desperate for offense, like they have been in this star-studded Fall Classic, and one of the best hitters on the planet isn’t doing his job, the results are back-to-back losses against an elite Dodgers team that has outplayed them in every facet of the game.

“I definitely gotta step up,” Judge said after going 0-for-4 with three strikeouts in the Yankees’ 4-2 loss Saturday. “I gotta do my job, when guys are out there doing their job getting on base, I’m failing them. I’m not backing them up.”

The two other stars in the Yankees’ lineup have hit throughout October, and are virtually the only ones doing so in the Fall Classic.

Juan Soto is locked in at the plate; his solo shot in the third inning of Game 2 was the Yankees’ only hit off Dodgers starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Soto’s liner off the right field wall in the ninth inning was just the second hit of the night for New York, and soon he scored its only other run when Giancarlo Stanton followed with a scorcher down the left field line. 

Sandwiched between the two rockets? Judge’s sixth strikeout of the Series. 

Soto now has four home runs, nine RBIs and a 1.160 OPS through 11 games this postseason. Stanton has six home runs, 14 RBIs and a 1.098 OPS. Judge, meanwhile, is batting .150 (6-for-40) with 19 strikeouts, two homers, six RBIs and a .605 OPS. 

“I think he made mistakes against me,” Soto said of facing Yamamoto, who struck out Judge twice. “He made a couple of good pitches in the first at-bat, and then he showed me everything. He showed me everything that he got in my first at-bat. So I was ready for anything in my second at-bat. He made a mistake and I just didn’t miss it.”

Soto, eternally bursting with confidence, seems to have the playoffs all figured out. What’s stopping Judge from achieving similar feats?

“Right now, he’s probably not feeling his best,” Soto said. “It’s just a tough moment for him right now.”

The Yankees captain acknowledged he’s been expanding the strike zone, as the world-class plate discipline that allowed him to draw the most walks (133) in the major leagues this year has escaped him. He added that his mechanics at the plate are “getting there,” and that his encouraging at-bats at the end of Game 1 didn’t translate into Game 2. Judge said the struggles he’s going through at the plate right now are “a little similar” to the struggles he faced in April, when he started the year in a slump, slashing .207/.340/.414 through his first 31 games. 

But the difference at this time of the year is that he doesn’t have the cushion of a long season ahead of him to get his mechanics straightened out. Judge has to make every pitch in the Bronx count, if not with a big hit, then at least a walk. The presumptive AL MVP noted that Yamamoto gave him a pitch to hit in the sixth inning, when he was ahead in the count 2-0 and the Dodgers righty threw him a fastball down and in. 

That’s a pitch, Judge said, that he’s usually able to connect on. Instead, he kept his bat on his shoulder and watched it settle untouched for strike one. 

“At times you want to try to make things happen instead of letting the game come to you,” Judge said. “I think that’s what it really comes down to. You see Gleyber [Torres] out there on base, Juan’s getting on base, trying to make something happen. You’re not going to get every pitch in the zone. So you have to take your walks and set up for Big G [Stanton].”

Judge puts a lot of pressure on himself to come through for his team. It’s never been about personal statistics for the six-time All-Star. What he cares about most is lifting the Yankees when they need him to — and they’ve relied on Judge throughout his career to come through in the clutch because, normally, he can. While Soto and Stanton are doing their parts, the American League champs still need Judge to be Judge if they’re going to be world champs. 

“He’s got time to help us win some games,” Stanton said.

Sure, but not much. Judge has to figure out a way to slow the game down so that he can compress the zone and tap back into the plate discipline and power that make him one of the greatest hitters of this generation. 

The Yankees ultimately cannot rise without him. 

Deesha Thosar is an MLB reporter for FOX Sports. She previously covered the Mets as a beat reporter for the New York Daily News. The daughter of Indian immigrants, Deesha grew up on Long Island and now lives in Queens. Follow her on Twitter at @DeeshaThosar.

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LOS ANGELES — Juan Soto walked out of the Yankees clubhouse with a scowl. Aaron Boone walked down the hallway with furrowed eyebrows and a look of irritation he couldn’t hide. Even Aaron Judge, who likes to throw in a small smile at the end of his responses no matter the day or the outcome of a game, struggled to really get there. The mood was set by their exceptional silence. The only sound made was that of the clubhouse attendants smacking cleats against a table to get all the dirt off. 

This one hurt. 

“It’s a seven-game series. You’re going to lose tough ones,” Yankees first baseman Anthony Rizzo said. “We’ve lost tough ones in the past. This is what defines character. Yeah, it stings because of the magnitude. But I wouldn’t say anyone’s more pissed off than any other loss.”

The Yankees said all the right things, like they’d pick their heads up and get back at it on Saturday, but their miffed expressions told a different story after losing 6-3 to the Dodgers in the 10th inning of Game 1 of the World Series. You can’t blame them for being shocked or crestfallen; the stage was set for the Yankees to secure a win on the road right up until Freddie Freeman hit the first walk-off grand slam in World Series history off left-hander Nestor Cortes. 

[RELATED: Full coverage of the World Series]

Despite their defensive blunders and a curious early hook on Gerrit Cole, the Yankees were one out away from a Game 1 victory when Cortes’ second pitch in 37 days — a 92 mph fastball, low and inside, right where Freeman likes to barrel the ball — was pummeled halfway up the right-field pavilion at Dodger Stadium. Cortes’ first pitch got Shohei Ohtani to fly out in foul territory, where left fielder Alex Verdugo tumbled into and over the railing and made a spectacular catch for the second out of the 10th inning. The Yankees never got the chance to celebrate that gutsy play as Mookie Betts was intentionally walked to load the bases and a Freeman-induced nightmare immediately followed. 

“Maybe just two or three inches higher,” Cortes said when asked where he wanted his fastball to Freeman. “I thought I got it to the inside part of the plate where I wanted to, but I didn’t get it up enough.”

Cortes spent the days leading up to Friday’s relief appearance convincing the Yankees that he belonged on the World Series roster. He missed the final week of the regular season, as well as New York’s first two rounds of the postseason, with an elbow flexor strain. There was a clear need for his left-handed arm on the pitching staff, and Cortes badly wanted to help his team win. Boone believed he could with the Dodgers’ two best left-handed hitters due up.

“The reality is, he’s been throwing the ball really well the last few weeks as he’s gotten ready for this,” Boone said of Cortes. “I knew with one out there, it’d be tough to double up Shohei, if Tim Hill gets him on the ground. And then Mookie behind him is a tough matchup there, so, felt convicted with Nestor in that spot.”

While Cortes did more damage than good in Game 1, he should get at least one more chance in the Series to atone for his mistake. After all, he was hardly the only Yankee to slip up. 

Soto overran a Kiké Hernández liner in right field in the fifth inning, turning what should have been a double into a triple. The Dodgers promptly cashed in on Soto’s misplay by hitting a sacrifice fly and scoring Hernández from third for the first run of the game. In the eighth, Ohtani ripped a double with an exit velocity of 113 mph to right that Soto fielded off the wall. He double-pumped before getting the throw in to second, where Gleyber Torres couldn’t handle the scoop as the ball ricocheted off his glove and into no-man’s land near the mound. Ohtani advanced to third — Soto was charged with an error — and Mookie Betts promptly hit a sacrifice fly to tie the game at 2-2. 

Mistakes like that can’t happen at this point in the long season. 

“Every little thing from the game is an opportunity for the offense to get another run,” Torres said. “And yeah, Ohtani went to third and Mookie hit the fly to center and it was a tie game. I have to make an adjustment and if I get an opportunity to block the ball, just keep it in the front and make it a little more simple.”

The Yankees overcame gaffes on defense and Boone’s questionable decision to pull Cole — he had allowed just one run and four hitters to reach safely through six-plus innings and 88 pitches — to reach the bottom of the 10th inning with a 3-2 lead. Playoff hero Giancarlo Stanton slugged his fourth home run in his past four games; this one a two-run shot in the sixth that gave the Yankees a 2-1 lead. Stanton needs one more home run this October to become the first Yankee in franchise history to hit seven homers in a single postseason. 

But Yankees triumphs that would have loomed large in Game 1 are now buried somewhere under the Dodgers’ dogpile at home plate.

“We had our chances there,” said Judge, who went 1 for 5, struck out three times and left two runners on while popping out to end the top of the ninth. “Kind of back and forth the whole game. We had our opportunities to put them away. We just weren’t able to do it. And they came up with a big clutch hit there at the end.”

The Yankees could’ve used more of those. They’ll now give the ball to Carlos Rodón for Game 2 on Saturday — with Yoshinobu Yamamoto on the bump for the Dodgers — hoping the lefty can carry them back to the Bronx with a series split. As Rizzo said, brutal losses can define a team’s character. The Yankees have at least one more day in L.A. to show who they are. 

Deesha Thosar is an MLB reporter for FOX Sports. She previously covered the Mets as a beat reporter for the New York Daily News. The daughter of Indian immigrants, Deesha grew up on Long Island and now lives in Queens. Follow her on Twitter at @DeeshaThosar.

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LOS ANGELES — When Juan Soto takes the field before first pitches in the Bronx, he sprints to his position in right field and gets the crowd going. As spectacular an entertainer as he is a disciplined hitter, he raises his arms and implores the home fans sitting directly behind him to bring animated energy. Sometimes he interacts with the crowd by signing baseballs. And after his first ever roll call from the bleacher creatures, he responded by taking a full bow for them. Most days, though, he puts his arms over his head and makes the shape of a heart when he hears his name being chanted.

It’s all love for Soto and the Yankees as they get ready to take on the Dodgers in the World Series. 

“I feel like it’s them. They make it really easy for me,” Soto said Thursday, when asked why he’s fit in so well with the Yankees. “They really welcomed me, really nice, and how they treat me and how they make me feel when I stepped in that clubhouse in spring training. They really make it easy for me. I think they are the big part of this, that’s why I feel really comfortable with where I’m at and how happy I am right now.”

Friday’s Game 1 also happens to be Soto’s 26th birthday, and there’s no other way he’d rather celebrate than by getting a win and a leg up over Los Angeles. Winning is what Soto cherishes to his core, and it will be at the top of his list of priorities when he’s exploring free agency this offseason, too.

In Soto’s best-case scenario, he helps the Yankees win the Fall Classic with more clutch at-bats like the one he had in Game 5 of the American League Championship Series in Cleveland, and he hits the market with his stock peaking. We know he turned down a reported $440 million in 2022 from the Nationals, the team that signed him out of the Dominican Republic and later won a World Series with him, not long before he was traded to the Padres. Entering this season, it was widely believed Soto could command a contract worth at least $500 million. Then he posted career highs in bWAR (8.8) and OPS+ (178) for a full season. 

Don’t be surprised if Soto’s overall contract value surpasses $600 million this winter. 

[RELATED: Full coverage of the World Series]

“I would say Scott [Boras] has been doing a really good job to not make it hard for me,” Soto said. “He’s been taking all the bullets and everything. I’m just focusing on playing baseball right now. That’s what I’ve been doing since day one, just focusing on baseball, and anything that comes up with [free agency], I just let him [handle] it.”

All of which begs the question, what’s the Yankees’ best-case scenario? Of course, they want to win the World Series with Soto in the only season he’s certain to be in pinstripes. But that would hardly make their negotiations with him this winter any simpler. In fact, if he’s wearing a second World Series ring as he tours ballparks and meets with team owners in the offseason, that will only add more zeroes to his asking price. 

One of those team owners is expected to be Mets billionaire Steve Cohen, who has significant money coming off the books this winter and has shown he will go after a coveted free agent if he really wants to. Since winning is what matters most to Soto, the Mets just showed the world that they could block out the noise, put their heads down, and compete all the way to the playoffs — their enchanted season finally finishing in the NLCS against the Dodgers, just two wins shy of reaching the Fall Classic despite no one expecting them to even sniff October baseball. The trifecta of Cohen, top baseball executive David Stearns and promising first-year manager Carlos Mendoza should make Queens an attractive borough for impending free agents, including Soto. 

The left-handed slugger is expected to field several offers this offseason, with big spenders such as the Mets, Phillies, Cubs, Dodgers and Giants, and maybe even the Blue Jays, Red Sox and Cardinals all potentially in play as landing spots. But in the end, it could very well come down to a two-team bidding war in New York, and that should unnerve Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner. If Cohen really wants to go after Soto, it’s hard to envision the Yankees beating his offer. Really, the Yankees cannot let it get down to that if they’re resolute on keeping Soto in the Bronx.

The Yankees will have to make an extremely competitive offer to keep Soto long term. This isn’t the time to play games, cross their fingers and hope Soto will stay, just because they traded for him last winter and have experienced a majestic season together. Soto has won before, and he’s been elite everywhere he’s played. Moreover, he reminded all 30 teams this postseason how quickly he can change the game with one at-bat, one swing, and send his team to the World Series. Several owners figure to be willing to bet the house on such a generational superstar and join the Soto sweepstakes this offseason. 

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When considering that he’s arguably the second-best young free agent in the history of the sport — behind only Álex Rodríguez — it’s fair to wonder, other than the obvious, what separates Soto from the rest of his peers. It starts with a dedication to his craft that even stands out to fellow generational talent Aaron Judge.

“I think it might have been early May, we were in Minnesota, I think he may have had a couple bad games,” Judge explained. “I saw him in the cage, he showed up early doing work with [Yankees assistant hitting coach] Pat Roessler. And I was talking to him like, ‘Hey, what are you working on? What are you doing?’ And he was like, ‘Ah, I just don’t feel right. This doesn’t feel right. This doesn’t feel right.’ And also, I’m looking up at the scoreboard, and he’s hitting .320, 15 homers. I’m like, ‘I think you’re doing alright.’ 

“So, it’s impressive to see, even a guy like him, he looks like he’s got it all figured out, he continues to put in the work, put in the dedication year in and year out. He’s one of the best players in the game, a superstar, and he continues to want to improve and continue to do better.” 

Soto’s iconic 10th inning at-bat in Game 5 of the ALCS in Cleveland had me wondering if he’s the most confident player at the plate in baseball right now, particularly as someone who can deliver in those high-pressure situations — so, I asked Aaron Boone. 

The Yankees manager paused for 10 full seconds before answering whether Soto is the most confident player he’s ever managed, or currently playing in the game. He appeared to search for the best way to answer “yes” without disparaging his other great, potentially Cooperstown-bound sluggers.

“I mean, I don’t know,” Boone chuckled. “I think we have a number of those players that are pretty confident in what they can do. He’s one of the greats that I’ve ever managed, but I’m managing a few of those guys. One of the things that’s certainly been enjoyable for me is getting to know Juan, the person and who he is. And to see his at-bat quality all year. 

“I go back to the first spring training game where there were a lot of eyes on that, and it’s like you became very aware very early that, I’ve described it as, his at-bats are like wars, battles. It’s not too often that you see the crowd feed off of ball one, strike one [like] with Juan, because he creates this theatrical battle between him and the pitcher as much as anyone I’ve ever seen.”

It’s hard to believe there’s a manager out there who would want anyone other than Soto at the plate right now when the game — the season — is on the line. For one, Soto’s elite plate discipline puts him on another playing field. He hardly ever makes mistakes, and when he does, he adjusts his swing decisions within the same at-bat. Although 26 years young, he enters every high-leverage situation believing in his heart of hearts that he’s the best player on the diamond. Soto’s unrelenting temperament gives him the chance to wait for the pitch he knows he can hit. The bigger the moment, the higher the stakes, the more likely he is to seize his golden opportunity. 

All of this has built Soto’s mythology and made him a monumental figure in the history of baseball, already. Just keep in mind that even though he has clearly relished playing for the Yankees and batting in front of Judge, especially now that they’re four wins away from winning the whole damn thing, that doesn’t make his free agency a foregone conclusion. Other front offices are salivating at the thought of adding Soto to their rosters, and if there’s a wide enough gap between those proposals and what the Yankees are offering, Soto’s time in the Bronx could be over next week. 

Unlike his interactions with the fan base on a nightly basis, the decision of where to sign a long-term contract and spend the next decade or more of his career won’t just be about love. 

Oftentimes, the determination to win can be a business. 

Deesha Thosar is an MLB reporter for FOX Sports. She previously covered the Mets as a beat reporter for the New York Daily News. The daughter of Indian immigrants, Deesha grew up on Long Island and now lives in Queens. Follow her on Twitter at @DeeshaThosar.

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The Yankees have been involved in several close games this postseason. They’ve yet to be in a close series. That figures to change in the Fall Classic, as New York takes on the National League’s top-seeded Los Angeles Dodgers.

The heavyweight matchup is sure to test the depth of both rosters. Here are X-factors who could swing the 2024 World Series in the Yankees’ favor. 

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1. Carlos Rodón, starting pitcher

It will be important for the Yankees to save their bullpen arms in a long series against the potent Dodgers, so any extra length their starters can give will go a long way. That starts with Gerrit Cole setting the tone in his Game 1 start, no doubt. But it will be equally important for Rodón to, at the very least, aim for a quality start in his first game of the Fall Classic. Rodón’s outings can be a bit of a roller-coaster if he’s struggling to focus and keep his emotions in check. But when he’s on, he’s worthy of being the ace of a pitching staff.

Fortunately for the left-hander, the Yankees don’t need him to be an ace to win their 28th World Series title. Really, he just needs to pitch like he did for half the season — when he recorded 16 quality starts out of a career-high 32 outings and 175 innings pitched. The Yankees have to hope all of that workload hasn’t caught up to him. Rodón said he watched the first six innings of Game 6 of the National League Championship Series between the Mets and Dodgers before he changed the channel to football, but what stood out to him was how obvious it was that right-hander Sean Manaea was gassed at this point in October.

RELATED: Dodgers’ 5 biggest X-factors vs. Yankees in 2024 World Series

Rodón registered an excellent outing sandwiched between two subpar starts this postseason. In the ALDS against the Royals, he was pulled after giving up four earned runs in just 3.2 innings. After six innings of one-run ball in his first start of the ALCS, he lasted just 4.2 innings in his second. Rodón noted how important the rest days were ahead of his first pitch in this series. And if he accomplishes his goal of pitching three times through the order, the Yankees and their entire pitching staff will be in better shape.

2. Giancarlo Stanton, designated hitter

Stanton has tallied five home runs, 11 RBIs, 10 hits, five walks and six runs in nine playoff games this October. These are video-game numbers. Amid a roster full of players yearning to win the championship, Stanton has been the most vocal about how nothing — not even his insane stats — matters unless the Yankees finish the job. His deep-seated determination to win a title has carried him this far, but it will be truly fascinating if he can keep up this pace in the World Series.

RELATED: Yankees-Dodgers: Ranking the 24 best players of the 2024 World Series

If he can, the Yankees look unbeatable with a lineup that boasts Juan Soto and Aaron Judge before Stanton even gets to the on-deck circle. There’s been a lot of talk about Soto being the one that pushed the Yankees over the edge and into the Fall Classic, and in many ways, he has. But Soto is new around here, and the clubhouse respects what Stanton has had to overcome in the Bronx (years of booing because of his injuries and underperformance) to reach this point: American League Championship Series MVP. If Stanton’s next act can somehow top his last one, he’ll be carrying the offense to a ring.

3. Luke Weaver, relief pitcher

Man, are the Yankees putting a ton of responsibility on this journeyman’s shoulders, and he has answered the bell almost every step of the way. Ever since the Yankees ended the Clay Holmes-closer experiment and promoted Weaver (a starter-turned-reliever) to begin earning saves, all he’s done is exceed expectations. Weaver entered the postseason with just four career saves — all of which were secured in the final month of the regular season — and it was a real question jowl he would fare in the postseason. Weaver quickly responded by pitching six scoreless innings and collecting four saves in his first five career playoff appearances.

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Proving he’s human, Weaver finally faltered in Game 3 of the ALCS, blowing his first save when he gave up a game-tying home run to Jhonkensy Noel in the ninth inning against the Guardians. But he bounced back in Game 5, pitching two scoreless innings, allowing just one hit to Cleveland and earning the win that sent the Yankees to the World Series. Up next, facing the star-studded Dodgers lineup will be the biggest challenge of his career. Weaver has surprised everyone down the stretch. Now, it’s tough to see New York winning without him playing a key role. 

4. Gleyber Torres, second baseman

The Yankees veteran has had a love-hate relationship with the Bronx fan base — mostly driven by his 18 errors, the most of any second baseman in MLB this year — but he’s received nothing but support from those that know him best within the organization. That confidence from his manager and teammates seemed to spur a different level in Torres ever since he was moved up to the leadoff spot in mid-August. Torres’ .755 OPS, six home runs, 11 doubles, 25 walks and 22 RBIs over 56 games batting leadoff are by far his best numbers of any spot in the lineup. Since he started setting the table in front of Soto and Judge, he started drawing more walks, too.

RELATED: How Yankees, Dodgers should pitch to each other’s stars: Smoltz’s World Series preview

We’ve seen how that enhanced plate approach has translated to this postseason; he’s drawn just as many walks (7) as Judge and Soto across nine games in the ALDS and ALCS. Torres’ bat provides another key element to a Yankees offense that is already plenty lethal without him. Not only will fans forgive and forget his rocky season if he continues to be productive in the World Series, but Torres is getting hot ahead of his upcoming free agency. After seven years in the Bronx, he’s forcing the Yankees front office to make a difficult decision. If he can continue doing his part at the top of the order, it’s getting easier to envision Torres in pinstripes next season and beyond.

5. Jazz Chisholm, third baseman

The Yankees were a trade deadline winner with their acquisition of Chisholm proving to be a huge success right away. Chisholm slugged nine home runs and collected 14 RBIs in his first 20 games with the Bombers, all while stealing six bases and posting a 1.029 OPS. His jolt of power, speed and energy were exactly what the Yankees needed at the time — after falling into a rut around the All-Star break, they entered the stretch run with a legitimate new threat in their lineup. Then we saw Chisholm’s fire on the field after Maikel Garcia’s slide into Anthony Volpe in the ALDS against the Royals, and it provided another edge on a Yankees roster that is so buttoned up that it can sometimes come off as boring.

RELATED: Who makes Yankees’, Dodgers’ all-time World Series starting lineups?

Chisholm, however, has cooled off considerably at the plate. He’s batting just .147 (5-for-34) with a .481 OPS, two walks and two stolen bases this postseason. When he does get on base, he’s still a menace on the basepaths. The Yankees don’t necessarily need Chisholm to display the power he did when initially acquired from Miami. They just need him to draw some walks and rip some singles so that others behind him can bring him in. That would be the best-case scenario for the bottom of the Yankees’ lineup, and perhaps their dangerous top.

Deesha Thosar is an MLB reporter for FOX Sports. She previously covered the Mets as a beat reporter for the New York Daily News. The daughter of Indian immigrants, Deesha grew up on Long Island and now lives in Queens. Follow her on Twitter at @DeeshaThosar.

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The magic ran out, but the movement has just begun.

It’s different for the New York Mets to say the season didn’t end in a total collapse with players and staff alike proud of what they delivered across 175 games — and for the fan base to be right there with them, believing it. 

After all, the 2024 Mets advanced to the playoffs for the first time in eight years and vanquished the Braves, the Brewers, and the Phillies on the way. They took the superteam Dodgers to Game 6 of the National League Championship Series, despite projection systems giving them a 5% chance to win the NLDS, let alone come within two wins of the World Series.

Once their unexpected and iconic season finally ended in Los Angeles on Sunday night, there remained a handful of legitimate reasons for the Mets to look ahead with optimism and hope. Let’s take a moment to examine how this season’s heroics have set the Mets up to be consistent contenders, with a new standard for success to achieve annually. 

1. Mark Vientos is a ‘bona fide big-leaguer’

That’s how first baseman Pete Alonso described the 24-year-old Vientos, who was left off the Opening Day roster and fought his way to the starting third base job by the middle of May. Once Vientos was in the majors for good this year, he never let his OPS drop under .837 across 111 regular-season games. He was solid on defense at a tough position in which he had only 21 games of MLB experience before this year. Then he raised his own level this October, crushing five home runs, collecting 24 RBIs, batting .327 and posting a .998 OPS across 13 playoff games. 

“When I’m talking about some of our younger players and the way they develop, he’s right there at the top,” manager Carlos Mendoz told reporters of Vientos in Los Angeles on Sunday. “It wasn’t easy for him. Had to fight for an opportunity. He finally got it and ran with it. And when you look at the numbers in the regular season, he’s a big part, a big reason why we got to this point and then the playoffs.” 

Vientos, a couple of years removed from his September 2022 MLB debut, exceeded expectations with his consistency this year. The Plantation, Fla. product showed the kind of makeup and put on the type of performance that a front office can start building around. Whether the powers that be will decide Vientos’ future is at third base largely depends on if the Mets can strike a deal with Alonso, who is imminently approaching free agency. 

But regardless of Vientos’ infield position, the Mets should not hesitate to take a page from their Atlanta division rivals and lock him up to a long-term deal. In the span of a season, Vientos’ outlook went from let’s see what he can provide, to genuine excitement for the foreseeable future.

2. Money — lots of money — is coming off the books, and the farm is sprouting

Last winter, the Mets gambled on one-year deals for Sean Manaea and Luis Serverino, both of whom became essential pieces in their deep playoff run. Now, New York is in a good position where both starters would love to come back, and there is an intriguing top free-agent arm in Corbin Burnes to consider adding to the rotation. Pitchers who are on the books for 2025 include: Kodai Senga, David Peterson, Tylor Megill, Paul Blackburn, and Jose Butto.

Plus, the Mets will have more financial wiggle room with a ton of money coming off the books. Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer were owed over $57 million combined in 2024 and that will no longer be the case next year. The Mets finished this season with an estimated $336 million payroll, and that number is expected to be slashed to around $170 million heading into next month’s free agency, per FanGraphs.

But the organization’s long-term goal has always been to build a sustainable contender through critical free-agent pickups as well as farm-system development. We saw some of that vision come to fruition this year, thanks to Luisangel Acuña’s encouraging MLB debut and Vientos’ noted ascension. Next year, New York’s top pitching prospect Brandon Sproat should be in the mix as a possible rotation addition, as well as potential roster upgrades from top infielders Ronny Mauricio and Jett Williams and top outfield prospect Drew Gilbert.

As Francisco Lindor said Sunday, “There’s something special going on here.”

This year’s roster provided a taste of how far the organization can go when blending core veterans (Lindor, Brandon Nimmo, Edwin Diaz and Starling Marte) with up-and-coming youngsters (Francisco Alvarez, Vientos and Acuńa). That concept should be back in play for years to come for these Mets.

3. The new regime is in sync

The trifecta of owner Steve Cohen, new president of baseball operations David Stearns and first-year manager Mendoza formed an excellent, stable foundation for the organization to continue building off of. Cohen got more involved in the day-to-day, becoming more visible and approachable to his staff members and players. Stearns did what he does best, stuffing the Mets roster on the margins with savvy moves and setting up the runway that allowed the team to finish two wins away from the World Series. Mendoza’s calm and well-balanced attitude, particularly in times of deep distress and ultimate highs, formed a sense of fearlessness within the clubhouse. 

In the end, it all led to respect. The Mets this season became a normal organization — a place that free-agent players would love to come play for — maybe Juan Soto? — especially those who have something to prove; a family that doesn’t just mind a little fun, but will lean into the eccentricities that allow people to be themselves and push their efforts to the ultimate limit; and a team that won’t dwell in the basement, but will fight its way out because the benchmark is a championship.  

There is legitimate trust and a complete buy-in from players and staff members who operate under Cohen, Stearns and Mendoza. Those three leaders made it not only believable that the Mets’ success can be sustainable, but they will make sure of it. The Mets have made the postseason in back-to-back years just twice (1999-2000, 2015-2016) in the franchise’s history. The new regime has made it possible to consider, for perhaps the first time ever, that the Mets can commit to doing what they did this year on an annual basis. 

“I just told the guys how proud I was because, not only we became a really good team, we became a family,” Mendoza said. “And now we raised the bar. Expectations now, this is what we should strive for every year, to be playing deep into October. And we showed that this year.”

Deesha Thosar is an MLB reporter for FOX Sports. She previously covered the Mets as a beat reporter for the New York Daily News. The daughter of Indian immigrants, Deesha grew up on Long Island and now lives in Queens. Follow her on Twitter at @DeeshaThosar.

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NEW YORK — Friday evening at Citi Field began with The Temptations singing their 1965 hit single “My Girl” in an ode to Francisco Lindor’s walk-up song. Lindor, while warming up on the field, smiled and sang along to the lyrics. Pete Alonso, stretching before what could be his final home game as a Met, joined in, too, and pretty soon the crowd — understandably tense before an elimination game — relaxed a little. Watching the jovial scene unfold in Queens, it was hard to tell that the Mets had lost by eight runs on each of the previous two days and were facing elimination. 

If they seemed loose and carefree mere minutes before southpaw David Peterson threw the first pitch of the game, it’s because that’s how they showed up to Citi Field ahead of Game 5 of the National League Championship Series. Mets manager Carlos Mendoza walked into the hitters’ meeting and everyone was smiling. Hours before their most important game of the year — yes, another one of those — New York’s happy-go-lucky attitude foreshadowed the pain they would inflict on the Dodgers.

“That’s who we are,” Mendoza said. “There’s no tomorrow for us. But we’ve been in this situation before. So, nothing new.”

After Peterson stranded Mookie Betts and Shohei Ohtani on second in the first inning — lifting the crowd’s energy from unease to optimism — Alonso followed by lifting a three-run blast off Jack Flaherty in the bottom of the frame. The Polar Bear’s fourth home run of October was a harbinger of the offensive outburst that was to come. The Mets tallied 14 hits, the second-most in postseason franchise history, in their 12-6 win over the Dodgers in Game 5. 

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The onslaught was a product of sticking to the plan, capitalizing on Flaherty’s drop in velocity and refusing to chase outside the zone. The Mets wound up tagging Flaherty for eight runs in just three innings. Besides Alonso’s long ball, they drew key walks, enjoyed timely hitting, and played small ball to overwhelm Los Angeles’ pitching staff. Starling Marte went 4-for-5 with three RBIs, Lindor collected a stand-up RBI triple, Jesse Winker reached base in four of his five plate appearances and catcher Francisco Alvarez went 3-for-4, too. 

On top of all the scoring, the Mets didn’t strike out once — a feat unseen in the postseason since the 2002 World Series by the Angels.

Friday was the kind of complete effort the Mets needed to remind themselves of their ceiling. 

“The quality of at-bats that we had, the intensity that we needed every inning, we understood that,” Lindor said. “And we had to give everything that we had, and that’s what we did.”

As the Dodgers threatened to put an end to this improbable run, the Mets leaned on the experience and the results that got them to this point. Their slugging first baseman, throughout these past few victorious weeks, has been right in the middle of it. Of Alonso’s five career postseason homers, four have given the Mets the lead — including three in the past two weeks alone. Not bad for one of baseball’s most powerful hitters just weeks away from entering free agency. 

Like Betts said on Wednesday, the Mets didn’t become one of the final four teams standing because of luck. They also didn’t reach this point because of a McDonald’s mascot or a hit Latin pop song. On Friday, the Mets reminded everyone why they’re only two wins away from advancing to the World Series: When they’re at their best, they can beat anyone. 

“We’ll be ready. We love opportunities,” Alonso said. “This is what we want to continue to play for. Today was all about, figure it out, get to Game 6. And we have that opportunity, and it’s going to be the same mentality: figure it out, get to 7. That’s what it is. Survive the day. And we did. And we’re really, really excited for the opportunity coming up.”

In a season overloaded with surprises, the Mets have the opportunity to pull off their greatest upset yet. They forced a flight back to Los Angeles for Game 6, which will take place Sunday night at Chavez Ravine, by focusing only on the 27 outs that could save their season rather than getting overwhelmed by the big picture. All baseball teams like to say they don’t look too far ahead, and instead prefer to take things day-to-day, but Mendoza’s Mets have executed that mindset better than most this season.

The Mets are attempting to become the ninth team in LCS history (AL or NL) to come back from a 3-1 hole. For motivation, they’ll be reminding themselves that they’re 2-0 in elimination games this year. 

“We’ve had success focusing on the process for 4-5 months now, and it’s not the time to change it,” Brandon Nimmo said. “We’re just trying to beat on that dam until it finally breaks, and it broke tonight.”

On The Temptations’ official website, the Motown legends bill their story as “an epic journey of courage, struggle, triumphs, setbacks, and ultimately, international superstardom.” 

Sounds a lot like the 2024 Mets.

Deesha Thosar is an MLB reporter for FOX Sports. She previously covered the Mets as a beat reporter for the New York Daily News. The daughter of Indian immigrants, Deesha grew up on Long Island and now lives in Queens. Follow her on Twitter at @DeeshaThosar.

[Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily.]

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