Always Prospering Media

Major League Baseball’s most storied franchise has been sitting at home for over a month now. The Yankees are coming off an extremely disappointing campaign this past summer, one of their worst in some time. The Yanks finished just barely above .500 at 82-80. With a payroll at north of 270 million dollars, New York underwhelmed and disappointed in every measure conceivable. Let’s look at what went wrong and how things can improve for the 2024 season beginning this coming Spring. 

San Diego Padres v Oakland Athletics / Brandon Vallance/GettyImages

First of all, the Yankee batting order was abysmal. They finished with a team batting average of .227, which was good enough to finish 29th in the MLB. They also finished 25th in baseball in runs scored. New York’s on base percentage also ranked near the bottom of the league coming in at 27th overall. Another thing worth noting is the barrage of injuries that plagued the Bombers in 2023. Aaron Judge played only 106 games with his toe injury and Anthony Rizzo suffered a concussion that held him under 100 games played as well. Additionally, Jasson Dominguez suffered a torn UCL that will keep him out for the first half of 2024 and Jose Trevino played just 55 games with a wrist injury. When looking at what went wrong in 2023 for these Yankees, the better question to ask is “what went right?”. 

So what can the Yankees do to return as World Series contenders this coming year? Well, they can start by trading to acquire superstar Juan Soto from the Padres. This would be the ideal acquisition for New York for a culmination of reasons. Firstly, Soto played in all 162 games and would be plugged into the gaping hole in left field. Secondly, he is a lefty, something the Yankee order is utterly deprived of. Third of all, he is a home run hitter that also can bat for a respectable average. He hit 35 long balls and batted .275 with 109 RBI’s, 4th in MLB. For context, Gleyber Torres had the best batting average on the team this year at .273, so a fellow batter in the upper .200’s that can launch balls onto the short porch in right field would be an enormous help. Additionally, Soto would provide coverage for Aaron Judge in the order so teams are less likely to simply pitch around the Yankee captain. Finally, Juan Soto is 25 years of age. He is absolutely in the prime of his career and will be one of the faces of the sport for the next decade. 

Next, the Yankees need to plug the gap in centerfield that now exists as a result of Harrison Bader going to Cincinnati and Jasson Dominguez getting injured. The two names that come to mind for me would be Kevin Kiermaier of Toronto who is outstanding defensively and is another lefty to plug into the order. He hit just eight home runs but did bat a respectable .265. This wouldn’t necessarily be a long term solution either, just someone to have as an outstanding defensive player until Dominguez can return / develop. The other name is Cody Bellinger from Chicago. Now Bellinger would be the ideal solution in my mind. He is coming off a season where he batted .307 and hit 26 homers and much like the other names I have mentioned, bats left. He also is only 28 years old and would be a perfect fit for the friendly right field in Yankee Stadium. Bellinger also recorded 97 RBI’s last season. As far as the infield, I personally wouldn’t mind seeing Anthony Volpe at shortstop and Oswald Peraza at third base if Peraza isn’t traded for the likes of a name like Juan Soto. DJ LeMahieu is also a utility guy who can play third or first every few nights as well. Rizzo will be returning from injury and was having an excellent season prior to going down, although he is 34 years old. LeMaheiu is 35 himself. 

As far as pitching goes, the projected Yankee rotation prior to this past season is legitimately comical to look at now. Cole was incredible and dominant all season. However, Nestor Cortes was injured for most of the season. Carlos Rodon was injured as well and when he pitched, wasn’t good. Domingo German is no longer and Luis Severino was putrid. The Yankees are expected to be among the favorites to land star right hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto from Japan. General Manager Brian Cashman was even in attendance for one of his outings where Yamamoto threw a no hitter. Yamamoto is just 25 years old and recorded a record of 17-6 with a 1.16 ERA last season. He will be a massive asset to whoever gets him in the Majors. However, he will be heavily sought after and the Yankees will need to compete with the Mets, Cubs, Dodgers, Phillies, Giants and others to land him. 

That being said, this would be my ideal lineup for the Yankees to roll out for opening day: 

1. Volpe, SS
2. Judge, RF
3. Soto, LF
4. Torres, 2B
5. Rizzo, 1B
6. Stanton, DH 
7. Peraza, 3B 
8. Kiermaier, CF
9. Wells / Trevino, C 

Ideal Rotation: 

1. Cole, RHP
2. Rodon, LHP
3. Cortes, LHP
4. Yamamoto, RHP
5. King / Schmidt 

I don’t see a reality where King and Schmidt stay if the Yankees do acquire Soto. I also would acknowledge that keeping Gleyber Torres may be difficult if they do so. Then, as far as guys who I didn’t mention, you have IKF as a quality utility guy on the bench as well as DJ LeMaheiu. Giancarlo Stanton is an absolute liability but because of his contract, the Yankees are stuck with him so the best option would be to move him down the order. His average is bad, he can’t run well and therefore is a liability in RF and on the base path. The only thing he contributes is hitting his home runs every year. However, if the Yankees do enter 2024 with this lineup, you have way more lefties in the order and a refreshing balance between older players and youthful athleticism. You have an extremely exciting infield with great speed and athleticism and an outfield with guys like Judge and Soto who will land haymakers offensively. You also have the option between Jose Trevino who is a gold glove catcher and newcomer Austin Wells behind the plate.