The Yankees deserve credit for earning a 6-5 victory over the Royals in Game 1 of the American League Division Series, but the win left many unanswered questions about the state of manager Aaron Boone’s roster. It’s too early for fans in the Bronx to panic about individual players’ performances after a postseason game, but there are a few issues to be aware of ahead of time.

To be fair, it will be difficult for New York to fix any of these issues this offseason. Boone has the opportunity to tweak the roster over the course of this offseason, but significant changes can’t be made until the offseason.

The following postseason issues will impact how the Yankees look on Opening Day of the 2025 season. Here are some possible overreactions that fans should keep an eye on as the playoffs progress.

There’s no bigger headline-grabber in New York than Aaron Judge’s postseason woes. Going 0-for-4 with three strikeouts in Game 1 didn’t help Yankees fans feel more excited about their talisman’s ability to lead the team to glory in October.

For Judge, this isn’t a one-game issue. His .206 batting average and just .758 OPS in 45 postseason appearances show how much he struggled during his career when the stakes were highest.

The reality is that 45 games is still not a statistically significant sample size compared to the 993 regular season games Judge played in his career. It’s probably a matter of when, not if, he breaks out and has a big streak. The Royals can pitch in front of Judge during this series at their own risk.

Gerrit Cole didn’t have his best performance against Kansas City on Saturday. He only managed to last five innings and gave up three earned runs against a pedestrian Royals lineup. Cole and everyone in the Yankees organization had higher expectations for his performance.

His average performance in Game 1 contradicts the dominant numbers he put up in his previous playoff games. Cole posted an ERA of just 3.05 in 18 playoff games. There is no reason to believe that his postseason performance will suddenly plummet at age 34.

It’s very likely that Cole will get another chance to showcase his playoff abilities as this story unfolds, and the Yankees can be confident in their chances whenever he takes the mound. A mediocre performance cannot shake the team’s faith in their ace.

Boone had to make a difficult decision early in this series about who would start in left field. He chose Alex Verdugo instead of Jasson Dominguez primarily because of the veteran’s defensive strength.

Verdugo responded by going 2-for-3 at the plate with an RBI and a walk. That’s great production for the ninth spot in the lineup. It’s also a significant improvement over what Verdugo was able to offer the team all season.

There’s a good chance Verdugo’s performance will regress to average over the course of this series. It’s likely that Game 1 will represent his best result of the postseason. The Yankees should consider any meaningful offense they get from Verdugo as a bonus. It shouldn’t surprise anyone if Boone gives Dominguez a chance to make his mark on the series in a future game.