Yankees miss playoffs for 1st time since 2016: 'It's a failure'

Start spreading the news. The New York Yankees won't be playing for a World Series in 2023.

The team was officially eliminated from postseason contention Sunday after losing 7-1 to the Arizona Diamondbacks.

"There's a lot that went wrong," Judge told reporters after the game.

He added, "I'll tell you guys every year if I'm not talking to you guys after a championship, it's a failure."

It's the first time the Yankees won't feature in the playoffs since 2016, snapping a streak of six straight postseason berths. The team hasn't appeared in the World Series since 2009.

New York spent big in the offseason, re-signing Aaron Judge to a nine-year, $360-million contract and adding Carlos Rodón on a six-year, $162-million pact. But an aging roster, numerous key injuries, and underperformance sunk the team. Judge, Rodón, Anthony Rizzo, Nestor Cortes, and Luis Severino all missed considerable time, and the rest of the roster wasn't deep enough to overcome those losses.

"I know guys missed time, that always hurts, from the rotation from my standpoint missing all the games I did doesn't help when you're supposed to be a guy in the middle of the lineup that helps produce every single night, so it's tough," Judge said. "Every year I've been in New York we've been in the postseason.

The team heads into the offseason with a number of questions. Owner Hal Steinbrenner has already called the season "unacceptable" and promised a deep dive into the entire baseball operations system. It's unknown if general manager Brian Cashman or manager Aaron Boone will return next year.

New York, which had MLB's second-highest payroll this season, will likely exceed the luxury-tax threshold in 2024 unless it drastically cuts significant salary. Judge, Gerrit Cole, Rodón, Rizzo, and Giancarlo Stanton will combine to make $152.8 million next year.

Cashman, or whoever's running the front office, will also need to replace departing free agents Severino, Frankie Montas, Isiah Kiner-Falefa, and Wandy Peralta.

"It's not going to happen overnight," Judge said of turning things around. "We need to hit the ground running when the season ends. We got a lot to work on, a lot of things to change, and a lot of stuff going on around here that needs to be fixed."

Judge did get into specifics of what needs to be changed and said he prefers to "keep that in-house."