Almost every move the Yankees made this past offseason came with an eye on their defense.
So perhaps it shouldn’t be a total surprise that the club’s fielding has been much improved this year.
But the best in baseball?
As the Yankees near the halfway point of their schedule with MLB’s best record, they do so having made the jump from the second-worst defensive team to the top-ranked defensive team in the game, according to Sports Info Solution’s Fielding Bible.
The Yankees entered their 2-1 victory over the Athletics on Tuesday with 51 team Defensive Runs Saved (DRS), per Sports Info Solutions. That was 11 more runs saved than the second-place Guardians. It is a major leap from last season, when they ranked second-to-last at minus-41.
A powerful offense and often dominant pitching staff have gotten most of the attention as the Yankees have raced out to a 55-20 record, but their standout defense has quietly fueled that hot start as well.
“It’s been one of the reasons why we’ve been able to win a lot of games,” manager Aaron Boone said. “On a very basic level, we’ve pitched and caught the ball really well. That’s a pretty good recipe and a pretty good foundation to start from. The defense has been there all year for us, whether it’s been the routine, the spectacular, the big play in a big situation.”
The Yankees also entered Tuesday leading the league with just eight unearned runs allowed through 74 games after giving up 73 last season. They did allow an unearned run Tuesday, when Oakland catcher Sean Murphy reached on catcher’s interference by Jose Trevino (Murphy committed two catcher’s interference errors of his own Monday night) and later scored. That snapped a streak of 31 straight games in which the Yankees had not allowed an unearned run, a franchise record.
Among the most notable contributors to the Yankees’ improved defense are Trevino, third baseman Josh Donaldson and second baseman Gleyber Torres.
Trevino, acquired from the Rangers late in spring training as part of the Yankees’ renewed focus on defense and framing behind the plate, led all catchers with 12 DRS, per Fielding Bible. He was also tops in Baseball Savant’s Catcher Framing Runs, helping a pitching staff with the second-lowest ERA in MLB (2.97) pick up some extra strikes along the way.
Donaldson, who came over from the Twins, with shortstop Isiah Kiner-Falefa, in the blockbuster trade that sent Gary Sanchez and Gio Urshela to Minnesota, has been an upgrade. He ranked fourth among third basemen with seven DRS, while the versatile DJ LeMahieu was close behind with four (tied for sixth).
Unlike Trevino and Donaldson, Torres is not a Yankees newcomer. But his switch from shortstop to second base, which finally took place on a full-time basis in September, has paid off in spades. Aside from taking some pressure off Torres, allowing his offense to get back on track, he has also played a strong second base. After being a liability at shortstop last year — his minus-10 DRS in 2021 ranked third-worst at the position — he entered Tuesday tied for second among second basemen with eight DRS.
“I’ve had some games where I feel like I didn’t even do anything special and I’ve gotten pretty good results, just because I was pitching to contact,” right-hander Jameson Taillon said. “I knew I didn’t have a ton that day and our guys were just balling out and making great plays. That’s refreshing. Whenever you’re in a jam or you don’t feel great, you know you’ve got those guys behind you.”
The Yankees have even benefitted from Aaron Judge’s move to center field. The MVP candidate has just one DRS at the position, but that is an upgrade from Aaron Hicks, who was minus-th\ree DRS in center. Hicks’ defense has also been better in left field, where he ranks seventh with four DRS.
“You have a superstar player like Aaron Judge who takes a lot of pride in his baserunning and his defense and his throwing,” Taillon said. “That right there sets the example, sets the tone for the team.”
