2023 was a year to forget for both the Yankees fans and the organization. Following their first division title in 3 years, the fans had high hopes for the 2023 season despite getting swept in the ALCS to end their 2022 season. After an 82-80 season in which the fans were left fed up with general manager Brian Cashman and owner Hal Steinbrenner, it was apparent changes had to be made. The Yankees offseason circled around rumors for big name players such as Yoshinombu Yamamoto, Blake Snell and Cody Bellinger, none of which they got. Cashman did make some key moves that they hope will boost the team’s offensive outlook for 2024.
The Yankees acquired Juan Soto and Trent Grisham for Drew Thorpe, Michael King, Jhony Brito, Randy Vazquez and Kyle Higashioka. Soto at just 25 years old is obviously one of the league’s top hitters and has been since he debuted in 2019. Soto, after a disappointing half-season debut with San Diego by his standards in 2022 bounced back in 2023 having his best season since 2021. Leading the mlb in walks for the third time in his career, he also posted a 158 ops+. Perhaps the most encouraging aspect of Soto’s bounceback campaign was his 35 home runs, setting a new career high. Soto launched 20 homers in just 71 games while sporting a .966 OPS in the second half, a number that many expect to increase even more with the short right field in Yankee Stadium. Soto sacrificed some contact to hit for more power as his strikeout rate increased to 18% but he was able to rank among the top in baseball in hard hit rate, average exit velocity and chase rate. Trends that should favor him greatly in 2024. The Yankees also acquired outfielder Trent Grisham in the trade. Grisham, a defensive first outfielder has seen his offensive production greatly decrease since 2020 where he owned a career high 123 ops+. That being said, he still has solid power and is among the best gloves in centerfield. He should serve as a solid depth outfield piece for the Yankees who have had outfield depth be among their biggest weaknesses in the past. The acquisitions of two Dodgers lefty relievers should stand to replace the departure of Wandy Peralta. Caleb Ferguson and Victor Gonzalez are both hard throwing lefties who were acquired for cheap. Gonzalez closed his 2023 season with a 0.90 ERA in his final 9 appearances and relies on his hard, movingsinker to get ground balls and strikeouts. Gonzalez pitched big innings for the Dodgers in the 2020 World Series and having pitched for them his entire career is not shy of big moments. Ferguson was a reliable lefty for the 2023 Dodgers bullpen owning a sub 3.50 ERA in just over 60.1 innings. The Yankees also acquired Alex Verdugo from their rival Red Sox. Verdugo’s role will become more clear as the season goes on but we can expect him to be an everyday outfielder against right handed starters at least until Jasson Dominguez returns from injury. Verdugo has been a mostly average hitter in terms of OPS+ the last few seasons but is an extra base hit machine tallying 55 XBHs in 2023. Verdugo struggles against lefties barely scraping a .600 OPS against them last year but reached almost an .800 OPS against righties. Being an athletic, reliable fielding left handed outfielder who has postseason experience, Verdugo should be of good value to the Yankees in 2024 as they will allow him to play to his strengths. The last key acquisition was signing Marcus Stroman to a 2 year- 37 million dollar contract. After a rough 2022 debut for the Cubs, Stroman, like Soto, had a promising bounceback 2023 that allowed him to opt out of his contract. Stroman held a sub 3.00 ERA in the first half before getting injured. Stroman struggled after his return from the IL but the Yankees hope that was simply an outlier due to injury. Stroman is one of the best starters at inducing ground balls which should play well to the Yankees solid infield defense. The Yankees also made some subtle, smaller moves such as signing Oscar Gonzales, Cody Morris and Jahmai Jones to minor league deals. Gonzales and Morris found small sample success in 2022 with the Cleveland Guardians while Jones was once a top prospect in the Angels farm system.
As for the team outlook, baseball fans can expect the Yankees to be much more competitive for the AL East crown. Adding Juan Soto to any team with Aaron Judge makes them a popular postseason pick but the weaknesses are apparent with this team. The injuries are already stacking up, most notably being Gerrit Cole. Cole, who is expected to miss the first 2-3 months of the season, leaves the rotation looking bleak. The reigning Cy Young has been the Yankees rock atop their rotation for the last few seasons and having him takes a lot of pressure off the rest of the starters. Now without Cole, it makes the performances of Carlos Rodon, Nestor Cortes, Clarke Schmidt and Marcus Stroman that much more important. Rodon and Cortes served disappointing seasons in 2023 after both being all stars the year prior. Both also deal with injuries frequently and we do not know how reliable they can be for this season. With Stroman adapting to a new team and Schmidt just not posing as high of upside, it leaves the 2024 Yankees rotation with a lot of question marks. The bullpen is always strong with established hard throwing sinkerballers such as Clay Holmes and Jonathan Loaisiga and new high upside relievers such as the previously mentioned Ferguson and Gonzalez. Players like Ron Marinaccio and Cody Morris possess top end spin rate and could provide solid value from the minors.
Offense has been the cause of the recent Yankees postseason disappointments and last year was one of the worst it’s been in a while. Injuries to Anthony Rizzo and Giancarlo Stanton left them having severely disappointing 2023 seasons. Despite the season-long drought, there is reason to believe the offense can be postseason worthy this upcoming season. Aaron Judge and Juan Soto are two hitters we know will produce at the top of the league. Gleyber Torres made his case as a top 10 second baseman last season and should be a consistent run producing power bat in the middle of the order. The bounce back of Anthony Rizzo is the X-Factor this year for the Bomber’s offense. There is much reason to believe Rizzo can be a reliable source of offense. Before a collision with Fernando Tatis on May 28th, Rizzo was slashing .304/.376/.505 with an .880 OPS in and a 146 WRC+ in 229 plate appearances. Post collision, Rizzo dropped to a 156/.275/.195 slashline with a disgusting .470 OPS in the next 149 PA. It later came out that Rizzo had a concussion and getting the time off he needed to heal, there is hope Rizzo can become a relevant bat in the order again. Giancarlo Stanton is one of the more controversial players the last few seasons for the Yankees. Stanton had his worst season last year by far with an 87 OPS+ and an abysmal .191 batting average in 415 PA. Stanton’s seasons are always riddled by injuries, 2023 being no different, but he has not given us much reason to trust him going forward. The power numbers are always strong for Stanton, who clubbed 24 homers last year despite his poor performance, and he always ranks in the top percentile in hard hit rate, barrel% and average exit velocity. Neither Rizzo or Stanton are a guarantee as both are dismantled by injuries and old age but both have it in them to make a difference in run producing spots for the Yankees and if they can level back to what we have seen them be, the offense should be scary. The catcher position is one that the Yankees have sacrificed in the order the last couple seasons but rookie Austin Wells is expected to get consistent run this season. Wells, a former first round pick, showed promising power in his very short sample last season. He has been a top prospect for years now and has had great minor league success. If he can be a 15-20 home run guy for the Yankees he should provide some much needed depth to the bottom of the order.

MVP: Juan Soto

Soto is an easy pick to be an MVP candidate every season, with the injury rumors for Aaron Judge circling, Soto, who played all 162 games last season, could be the most consistent bat for the 2024 Yankees. Soto will be hitting in front of or behind Aaron Judge meaning he will get a lot more pitches to hit. If Soto wants to be as patient at the plate this season and sell out a bit for more power he can hit 40+ home runs. Fangraphs projects Soto’s ISO to jump up to .256 and expect an increase in batting average and slugging. Soto will be in run producing spots often and his durability isn’t matched by the rest of the order giving him a good chance to be their most consistent bat over the season’s course.

Cy Young: Clay Holmes