Is this the year the Yankees avoid their midsummer swoon?

Q: What is the Yankees' current record in 2026?

The Yankees currently have a record of 23-11 in 2026.

Q: How did the Yankees perform in previous seasons during midseason?

In previous seasons, the Yankees often started strong but experienced significant midseason slumps, notably in 2023 and 2024.

Q: Who are key players contributing to the Yankees' success in 2026?

Key players include Ben Rice, who is performing exceptionally well, and the team's pitching staff, which is considered very strong this year.

Q: What changes have the Yankees made to avoid a midsummer slump?

The Yankees have shown urgency in roster decisions, such as demoting ineffective players and not automatically reinstating players who underperform.

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - MARCH 30: Manager Aaron Boone of the New York Yankees looks on before the game against the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park on March 30, 2026 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images) | Getty Images It’s a tale as old as time at this point. The Yankees, loaded with talent and with their usual championship aspirations, roar out of the gate, looking every bit the class of the American League for the first half or so of the season. Then, the midseason swoon hits, and the team plummets in the standings, regaining their footing at some point later in the summer, just in time to stabile and make the playoffs. The story of the 2026 Yankees is following the blueprint so far. They are playing stellar baseball, and in truth look even further ahead of the rest of their AL rivals than usual at this time of year. They’re playing remarkably well, but surely some fans are still just wait for the other shoe to drop. So let’s ask the question: is this the year the Yankees avoid their midsummer malaise? The first time it happened, the Yankees’ midseason flop could’ve been written off as a fluke. They sprinted to a stunning 61-23 record in 2022, but floundered through July and August before getting things together for a strong September that allowed them to clinch the AL East. They weren’t so fortunate in 2023, when the Yankees had a 36-25 record after their early-June series in Los Angeles, but buckled under the weight of a copious injuries, including Aaron Judge’s devastating toe injury against the Dodgers, limping to an 82-80 finish. 2024 is when the midseason swoon narrative truly took hold in the public’s imagination, the team again playing stellar early-season ball, running out to a 45-19 record before playing sub-.500 ball through most of the summer. And in 2025, things reached another peak (nadir?), when the Yankees regressed from a 42-25 start to post an 18-29 record over the next month and a half, making a number of ugly and costly mental mistakes in the process. Their swoon was so deep that a blistering 34-14 close to the year was necessary to get back into a tie atop the AL East by season’s end. Here we are in 2026, with the Yankees at 23-11, winners of 13 of their last 15. The pattern of the last four years is strong enough that many feel another faceplant in June or July is inevitable. Yet this roster also looks strong enough to perhaps ensure that whatever slumps the team eventually runs into will not be as deep or as prolonged as in recent years. The club’s pitching has never felt this loaded, and the lineup, with doing his best impression (get !) is as good as ever. Not only that, but the way the Yankees are moving this year feels different. They didn’t hand back his starting shortstop job when he did little to earn it during his minor-league rehab, they quickly demoted when the right-hander proved ineffective, and they promptly cut the shenanigans with Rice sitting against lefties once it became clear that Rice is one of the league’s scariest hitters. It’s the combo of this urgency and the team’s loaded roster that forces one to consider the possibility that this is finally the year the Yankees avoid a nightmarish midseason slide. What do you think? Will the Yankees find more consistency this year, or are they doomed to repeat the mistakes of the last few years? On the site today, Kevin will recap a busy day of American League action, while Michael will discuss the still-looming return of Anthony Volpe and how, though many fans not think it, it should give the Yankees a boost. Later, Jeremy profiles Miguel Cairo on the occasion of the former infielder’s 52nd birthday, and John explores the origin of the ‘Bronx Bombers’ nickname, while Andrés praises ’s improvement against lefties.