It's slowly becoming an annual occurrence for the New York Yankees' offense to begin the season on a tear, only to fall flat during the summer. 

At 46-34, New York has been in first place in the American League East for nearly the entire 2025 campaign. With a 16-7 record in June, the Tampa Bay Rays are now just 0.5 game back of the Yankees, who have an 11-12 record this month.

Here is what the Yanks must do to stop their midsummer freefall and avoid surrendering first place.

The Baby Bombers need to boom

Except for All-Star finalist first baseman Ben Rice, the Bronx Bombers are in dire need of their young guns to improve offensively. 

Shortstop Anthony Volpe and catcher Austin Wells are back to their streaky ways, with slash lines of .154/.211/.269 and .220/.259/.420 respectively over their last 15 games. Both have All-Star ceilings, but are currently leaving much to be desired in the bottom half of the Yankees' lineup.

As far as left fielder Jasson Dominguez goes, "The Martian" showcases his potential in bursts, from four-hit games to multi-homer performances. However, he must start more often to continue growing at the MLB level. If developed correctly, Dominguez could be a lightning rod for the Yanks.

Ride and die with Judge

Is it possible to say that Aaron Judge is slumping while he's batting .361? Whether it is or isn't, the Yankees' captain has not been at his best over the past few weeks and has contributed to the team's slide.

Where Judge goes, the Yanks follow, as he's posted a slash line of .204/.317/.463 with 25 strikeouts over his past 15 games, with the Yankees dropping nine of those contests.

With New York's lineup constructed around Judge, when he slumps, so does the rest of the team. With this most likely being a temporary drought in production from the 6-foot-7 sensation, the Yankees' pitching staff must deliver until Judge is back to mashing. 

Better moves on the bases

The last thing a team needs when their offense is struggling is base-running errors, but that is exactly what the Yanks are doing.

In addition to its dull offense, New York has been making crucial mistakes on the base paths, halting their momentum in late innings and big moments.

It's developed into a trend, as they're tied for last in the league with the Colorado Rockies for most losses due to base running, costing them seven wins.

Giving away free outs at the highest level is sure to make scoring runs more difficult, so it's imperative that the Yankees decrease their base-running blunders.