Yankees face "must-win" scenario in Game 3, both now and for the future

Game 3 of the World Series arrives tonight with much anticipation, as the New York Yankees stare down a daunting 2-0 deficit to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

By this point, no one needs a long recap of what happened in Los Angeles over the weekend. The Yankees held multiple different leads in Game 1 thanks to some timely hitting, only for manager Aaron Boone to blow it in extras by bringing in rusty starter Nestor Cortes to face Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman. In Game 2, the Bronx Bombers fell asleep in the batter's box until the ninth innings, when Anthony Volpe struck out with the bases loaded and one out to end their hopes for a rally.

Heading into tonight's marquee event, New York faces an unenviable task: win, or be faced with a situation that no other World Series participant has ever come back from. A 3-0 comeback has only happened once in the history of the MLB's postseason, back in 2004 when, ironically, the Yankees lost four straight to the Boston Red Sox in the ALCS. If the "Evil Empire" hopes to widen its lead over the St. Louis Cardinals for most World Series trophies, they have to get the job done tonight.

There are a few storylines at play, like Shohei Ohtani's shoulder injury, though Dodgers manager Dave Roberts believes that the Japanese phenom will play in Game 3.

Likewise, Yankees ace Gerrit Cole reportedly won't start on short rest in Game 4 regardless of what happens tonight. With Clarke Schmidt (2.85 ERA, 2.0 WAR) facing off against Walker Buehler (5.38 ERA, -1.3 WAR) in Game 3, New York has the apparent advantage on paper, though that didn't matter when they ultimately lost a Cole v. Jack Flaherty matchup in Game 1.

None of this is groundbreaking news. The Yankees are in the World Series for the first time in 15 years and on the doorstep of their 28th championship. They find themselves up against the rope after dropping two in L.A. You've heard it all before.

What's a significantly more damning problem, even if it's not the most important thing right now, is that the Yankees aren't exactly in great position to get back to this stage in the future. Their list of impending free agents almost exactly mirrors a list of their best players from this postseason:

To recap: that's their best hitter (non-Aaron Judge division), another starting outfielder, their starting first baseman and second baseman, the team's four most reliable relievers (including their closer, former closer, changeup extraordinaire, and lefty specialist), as well as two more relievers that are dealing with injuries but have had ample success in the major leagues before.

Losing 44% of your starting lineup and half of your bullpen isn't exactly a recipe for repeated success. Surely, the Yankees will re-sign a few of those players and pick up a club option or two, but Soto's potential departure looms the largest. He's their table setter for Judge atop the lineup, practically immune to the kinds of slumps that Judge is going through right now, and significantly more consistent and reliable than Giancarlo Stanton and Jazz Chisholm. For years, Yankees fans bemoaned the team's lack of support for Judge in the middle of the order—now, the team has the game's best pure hitter, and it still might not be enough to overcome the Dodgers.

With reports that Soto is going to command in excess of $600 million this offseason, the Yankees might find themselves in an unsavory bidding war with their World Series opponent and their fat-walleted neighbors in Queens. If they were to lose Soto, even to a team in the National League, their chances of grabbing another pennant in the next few seasons goes down dramatically. And, even if they come out on top in "Sotomania" during free agency, their ability to build around such an expensive roster is also going to be hamstrung.

For all we know, this might be the Yankees' best chance to win a World Series with this core. It might be their only chance to do so with Soto. If that doesn't light a fire under the Bronx Bombers, nothing will.

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