This story was excerpted from Bryan Hoch’s Yankees Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

Juan Soto fulfilled his end of a promise to Aaron Judge in the first inning of Tuesday’s All-Star Game, working a seven-pitch walk so the Yankees captain would have an opportunity to face Paul Skenes, the fireballing Pirates phenom who drew the starting nod for the National League.

It was a power vs. power showdown, and Judge said his plan was to see something in the zone and barrel it somewhere. Skenes challenged Judge with a 99.7 mph fastball, which Judge chopped to third base for an inning-ending groundout. The captain hopes that the Yankees’ decision-makers will have much more success swinging big ahead of the July 30 Trade Deadline.

“As the Yankees, we’re going to try to put ourselves in the best position,” Judge told reporters at Globe Life Field. “It’s the front office’s job to fill the holes where we need them. We’ve had a great group so far, and we’ll take any help we can get.”

It’s a group that came out of the gates strong, becoming the Majors’ first team to reach 50 victories, then limped toward the All-Star break with an 8-18 record.

Their final game before the break was a heartbreaker. Presented with an opportunity to rattle off a three-game sweep of the Orioles in Baltimore, the Bombers endured a ninth-inning collapse that saw Clay Holmes blow a save behind misplays from Anthony Volpe and Alex Verdugo.

Yet for all of the warts that the June swoon exposed, the Yankees are in postseason position as they open the second half, on pace for 95 victories with the American League’s third-best winning percentage and one game behind Baltimore in the division.

General manager Brian Cashman’s shopping list is longer than it might have been a month ago. There has been little production beyond Judge, Soto and rookie Ben Rice (the Yankees' No. 12 prospect). Though the pending returns of Giancarlo Stanton and Jon Berti should provide some assistance, Cashman will look to add at least one bat to lengthen the lineup. They are thought to have interest in the Marlins’ Jazz Chisholm Jr., who (not coincidentally) has been moved back to second base from the outfield.

The rotation, which performed so admirably while ace Gerrit Cole recovered from a right elbow injury, has stalled. While Carlos Rodón, Marcus Stroman and Nestor Cortes stumbled into the break, Luis Gil offered encouraging signs in his past two starts, showcasing an improved slider that he tweaked by borrowing a grip from former teammate Luis Severino.

Since Gil may finish the season in the bullpen and Clarke Schmidt is still several weeks away from a return, starting pitching is on the radar. A published report suggested that New York has expressed interest in Garrett Crochet of the White Sox, though Chicago insisted upon outfield prospect Spencer Jones (the Yankees' No. 2 prospect, No. 74 overall) in return.

Given the Yanks’ apparent unwillingness to part with Jones or Jasson Domínguez (New York's No. 1 prospect, No. 25 overall), they might focus on improving a shaky relief crew that sorely needs someone who can escape jams with strikeouts. Mason Miller of the Athletics, Tanner Scott of the Marlins and Carlos Estévez of the Angels could all fit that bill nicely.

“We have really talented teams that we’re facing every day, so they’re not going to cut us a break,” Cashman said. “We’ve just got to figure our way through this ourselves, and then hopefully we can add some outside pieces that will benefit us at some point.”

Second-half goal: Turn back the clock
When the Yankees woke in their Boston hotel on the morning of June 15, they owned baseball’s best record at 50-22, also pacing the Majors in ERA (2.94) and runs scored (371). It was then, as Cashman said, that a light switch flipped -- the season took a 180-degree turn, with the Bombers winning just eight of their next 26 games. Manager Aaron Boone said he saw positive signs during the club’s final road trip going into the break. To hold off the Orioles and claim the division, they’ll need to recapture that early-season form.

Trade Deadline strategy: Help wanted
The Yankees might have too many issues to fix in one Trade Deadline period, but they’ll certainly try -- after all, this is their only guaranteed year with Soto. Even before their June slide, there was a clear need for a swing-and-miss arm in the bullpen. That remains an issue, and they could deal for one or two relievers. Underperformance (Rodón, Cortes, Stroman, plus Gil for three starts) and injury (Schmidt) has dinged the rotation, so New York might also try to deal for a starting pitcher. There’s also a need for an infielder, with DJ LeMahieu and Gleyber Torres both having been underwhelming.

Key player: OF Aaron Judge
Stop us if you’ve heard this before -- Judge is chasing home run history while attempting to carry the Yankees to the postseason. Yes, as Yogi Berra might have said, this feels like déjà vu all over again. While Judge takes aim at his own single-season American League home run record (he enters the second half on pace for 57), the captain’s team is trying to ward off the type of skid that turned the latter half of 2022 into a one-man show. The difference this time is that Judge has a Robin to his Batman -- and quite a formidable one -- in Soto.

Prospect to watch: OF Jasson Domínguez
Timing is everything, and if not for a left oblique strain, “The Martian” might be playing a starring role in the Bombers’ lineup right now. The Yanks did not see a path to give their top prospect at-bats with Alex Verdugo, Judge, Soto and Stanton healthy. Playing for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Domínguez was injured on a June 15 check swing and Stanton strained his left hamstring a week later. Though Domínguez isn’t expected to be available until late August, he’d provide a significant upgrade for a lineup lacking length from the cleanup spot down.