The Yankees got swept and two of the most recognizable players in franchise history went on national television and said the organization has a thinking problem. On FS1’s postgame show, alongside Kevin Burkhardt and David Ortiz, Alex Rodriguez did not soften it.
“There has to be a philosophy change,” Rodriguez said.
He Was Specific About What He Meant
Rodriguez argued the issue is not the talent on the roster but the approach the roster is taught to take. He urged Brian Cashman to surround himself with people who understand the game.
That is a pointed thing to say about a front office on live television, and it is the kind of criticism that only lands when it comes from someone who played there. Rodriguez knows the difference between a bad team and a team that plays badly.
Derek Jeter made the same point from the other direction. The Yankees beat themselves, he said, and against a team like Tampa Bay “you cannot make mistakes because they’re going to capitalize on them.”
The Series Proved Both of Them Right
New York committed three errors in the first inning of Game 2. Three. In one inning. Against the team with the best record in the American League.
Trent Grisham led off Game 3 and went 0-for-5 with three strikeouts. The Yankees lost that game 4-3 and the series 3-0.
Those are not talent failures. A $336 million payroll does not produce three first-inning errors because it lacks ability. It produces them because something about preparation, focus or roster construction is not working.
This Is the Third October Like This
The Yankees lost the ALDS to Toronto last year. They lost the 2024 World Series to the Dodgers in five games. Now a sweep at the hands of the Rays, with Aaron Judge unavailable.
Rodriguez and Jeter are not outsiders throwing rocks. They are two players who won in that building and are watching an organization spend more than anyone and get less from it than almost anyone.
The uncomfortable part for Yankees fans is that the front office and the manager are both expected back. A philosophy change requires someone willing to change the philosophy, and the people being asked to do that are the people who built this one.
Rodriguez said it on national television. Whether anyone at Yankee Stadium was listening is a different question entirely.
There is one more number worth sitting with. New York has not reached a World Series since 2024 and has not won one since 2009, which is 17 seasons of the highest payroll in baseball producing nothing. Rodriguez and Jeter lived the other version of this franchise, and that is exactly why their criticism carries weight.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.