Hal Steinbrenner is not ready to press the panic button just yet.
The Yankees owner indicated as much during an interview on Michael Kay's radio show on ESPN, and he seems to be taking New York's early-season struggles in stride.
The Bronx Bombers enter Wednesday's slate sitting at third place in third-place AL East. They are five games back of the second-place Orioles and 10 games behind the surging Rays.
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Despite this, Steinbrenner seems willing to give space — and more vitally, time — for manager Aaron Boone, general manager Brian Cashman and hitting coach Dillon Lawson to turn around a roster that has underperformed nearing the halfway point of the season.
"Nobody is on the hot seat right now," Steinbrenner said when asked about the Yankees' performance. "Let’s get through the season. Let’s see what happens.”
Hal Steinbrenner answers questions from Yankees fans on The Michael Kay Show right now on YES & the YES App.
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) June 21, 2023
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Thus far, the 2023 MLB season has been defined by disappointment for the Yankees. Aaron Judge has been great when he's played, posting a league-best 1.078 OPS, but the reigning AL MVP has been hampered by multiple stints to the injured list.
It's a similar story for Carlos Rodon, who inked a mammoth deal with the Yanks ahead of the 2023 season. The southpaw has yet to pitch for New York, as he was placed on the 60-day IL with forearm and back issues before the season began.
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Nestor Cortes and Harrison Bader are among other starters who have missed time for the Yankees. Those injuries have been exacerbated by a division that has grown increasingly competitive over the past few years.
Still, Steinbrenner cited those injuries as a reason not to blow things out. He believes that part of the reason that this year's squad hasn't gelled and backed slumping sluggers Anthony Rizzo and Giancarlo Stanton.
“There’s no way that Stanton and Rizzo aren’t going to start hitting, and the others as well,” Steinbrenner said.
Despite his words of encouragement, Steinbrenner didn't rule out a sweeping tide of change if things didn't improve.
"I would say that if we can march into the playoffs with 90 percent of our intended team that we expected to be on the field every day, 90 percent, and we don’t perform well in the playoffs, I’m going to start asking the questions even then," Steinbrenner said.
If we don’t make the playoffs... and we’re healthy the second half of the year and we start getting guys back and we get the team that we intended to be on the field, then I’m going to be asking some tough questions.
The Yankees are a world away from the blistering 56-21 record they sat at this point last year. Still, Steinbrenner said he was surprised by fans' discontent. Despite the roster consisting of the second-highest payroll in MLB.
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"They are upset," Steinbrenner said of the New York faithful. "I'm a little confused, this year, being the third week of June, why they're so upset, but they're upset and that's gonna get my attention, of course.
"Everybody just needs to know that we're working hard on all fronts to get this back on the rails and start playing the way we were for a couple week period there in May."
The Yankees are 6-9 so far in June. They've been toothless at the plate — they rank 21st in the league in team OPS — and have struggled to find much of a rhythm, especially with Judge out of the lineup.
Rodon and Judge should be back in the mix soon enough; Rodon struck out five in his first rehab start with Double-A side Somerset, while Judge's toe is "improving" per reports.
Still, Steinbrenner's latest interview will do little to quell New York fans' concerns — even if he believes the Yanks are on the cusp of a breakthrough.
"I think we're going to be fine; I believe we're going to be fine," Steinbrenner said. "People can call me delusional for saying that, but these guys are just too good."
