Tampa Bay Rays v Cleveland Guardians / Brandon Sloter/GettyImages

You’re going to read this statistic 25 times before comprehending it, blinking along the way. Ready? Ready. The New York Yankees did not receive a home run from the first base position between July 31 and the end of the season. First base is a position of power, traditionally.

That home run did not come from Anthony Rizzo. Or Ben Rice. Or Oswaldo Cabrera. Or Jon Berti. Or JD Davis. Instead, it was courtesy of everyone’s favorite 2024 Yank, DJ LeMahieu. BLEAK.

Despite Rizzo’s leadership capabilities and valiant return from fractured fingers in October, he was — against all odds — the team’s defensive weak link throughout the entire postseason, culminating with an all-time, world-historic mind-bender in Game 5 of the World Series, collaborating with Gerrit Cole on a PFP nightmare. Rizzo contributed briefly on offense in the ALCS, but cracked mostly singles. A powerless first baseman whose defense disappeared as the season dragged on benefitted no one, especially in razor-tight games at the tail end of October.

The Yankees foresaw this developing issue at the trade deadline, but were unable to budge their preferred outcome across the finish line. Two days before the bell, following their acquisition of Jazz Chisholm, the Yanks reportedly scaled up their pursuit of division rival Yandy Diaz, the muscle-bound, rock-steady OBP machine of the Tampa Bay Rays.

If only they’d been able to execute.

Yankees pursued Yandy Diaz at the 2024 MLB trade deadline, and they really should’ve finished the deal

The only silver lining, at the time, was that no one else acquired Diaz, either. The Astros were rumored to be in competition with the Yankees, but the Rays couldn’t seem to agree on an appropriate price (or summon a desire to part ways). If Houston had closed the deal instead here, something tells us they would’ve surged past the Tigers in the Wild Card round.

But … water under the bridge. Except for the fact that all that bridge water crept up on Rizzo and swept him away during the biggest play of the Yankees’ season.

This offseason, the Yankees will more than likely be paying $6 million to decline Rizzo’s option rather than $17 million to keep him, unless Aaron Judge interferes. It’s incumbent upon them to return to slugging at the position, whether their target is high-profile (Christian Walker), fading (Paul Goldschmidt), or ascendant (Josh Naylor).

Or they could simply try to pry Diaz loose again (116 OPS+ after finishing sixth in the AL MVP voting in 2023), running from the fact that it may already be too late to matter.