Nathan Aronoff
2023:
The 2023 Yankees have been an abysmal disappointment. As of September 14th the Yankees are only a single game above the 500 mark and are threatening to finish beneath it for the first time since 1992. Even if they do finish above 500 they will miss the postseason for the first time since 2016, not a good look for a team that entered the season with World Series aspirations. The Yankees’ starting rotation ranked near the bottom of the league with only 29% quality starts while their offense ranks 24th in the MLB in runs scored. The front office must make drastic changes this offseason in order to prevent a repeat next year. Here’s what I think the 2024 roster should look like (Asides from the bullpen, because they’re set there):
The Outfield:
Aaron Judge:
Judge is currently the closest to a sure thing for New York in terms of outfielders. Judge won the AL MVP award in 2022 and was just as good in 2023, when healthy. If Judge can stay on the field in 2024 he should have RF locked down for the Yankees.
Jasson Dominguez:
Dominguez has been one of the Yankees’ top prospects over the past couple of years. On September 1st Dominguez made his MLB debut against the Houston Astros and took Justin Verlander deep in his first at-bat. “The Martian” played 8 games before tearing his UCL and being declared out for the remainder of the season. In those 8 games he hit four homeruns while slashing .258/.308/.980 and proved that he’s the real deal. Dominguez will miss a bit of time to start the 2024 season, yet he should be able to hold down either CF or LF for the Yankees for the majority of the year.
Juan Soto / Mike Trout:
Both Juan Soto and Mike Trout are superstar outfielders who’s teams have been letting them down. Soto will be a free agent after the 2024 season. Since the Padres are nowhere near contention it is very likely that they will make a long term investment by either locking up Soto on a multi year contract or by trading the outfield for prospects. The only reason they haven’t signed Soto to a multi year contract yet is because they haven’t been able to agree on a price, therefore with every day that passes a Soto trade becomes more and more likely. Unlike Soto, Trout is under contract until 2030, however if the Angels lose Shohei Ohtani this offseason they will be forced to rebuild. In a potential rebuild, Mike Trout would be a great piece to trade for a handful of young prospects. The Angels front office has already declared that if Trout wants out they are open to the idea of a trade.
Meanwhile, three of the Yankees’ top nine prospects don’t seem to fit in the organization. Number 9 prospect Trey Sweeney is a 23 year old shortstop who should be ready for the pros sometime this upcoming season. Sweeney is blocked by rookie shortstop, Anthony Volpe. Volpe is currently having a solid debut season with 20 home runs, 23 stolen bases, and 3 defensive runs saved. Volpe isn’t getting benched for Sweeney anytime soon. As well as Sweeney, also number 3 prospect Everson Pereira and number 1 prospect Spencer Jones are blocked. The Yankees have shown intention to give Jasson Dominguez a large role in the outfield over the next few seasons and it is extremely rare and risky for a team to start two rookies in the same outfield. I would love to see the Yankees package these three guys together in a trade for Soto or Trout.
Giancarlo Stanton:
Stanton is about halfway through his 13-year $325 million contract with New York. Stanton is broken, washed up and simply nowhere near his $25 million per year value. He will mainly be used as the DH next season and occasionally will make a spot start in the outfield to let the real outfielders rest. Ideally the Yankees will be able to use Everson Pereira in that role because his speed and defense are far better and would allow Judge to DH often, however Pereira will likely be traded or demoted and it’s unlikely that the Yankees will find a solution for Stanton’s monster contract.
The Infield:
Anthony Volpe & Oswald Peraza:
Volpe and Peraza are a pair of young and athletic infielders who have held down the left side of the infield for the Yankees for the large part of the 2023 season. As I previously mentioned, Volpe is having a promising rookie season and should be New York’s starting shortstop for years to come. Peraza has been just as impressive with the glove, yet hasn’t found a rhythm offensively yet. Having a full season with the big league club will be good for him and should allow him to be more productive with the bat next year.
Gleyber Torres:
Gleyber Torres came into the final season of his contract with a lot of question marks looming over his head. The 26 year old second baseman answered them all by having a good season and being the most productive bat in New York’s lineup in 2023. As of September 14th, Gleyber has 25 homers and 13 stolen bases while slashing .271/.341/.802. In my opinion the front office should give Torres a long contract and make him the team’s second baseman for the next half decade at least.
DJ LeMahieu / Anthony Rizzo:
Both LeMahieu and Rizzo are veterans who came to New York to revive their careers. Both did so in big ways by playing fantastic baseball and earning big extensions. After batting .364 in 2020 the Yankees granted DJ a 6-year $90 million contract, yet this season DJ is batting .238.
Anthony Rizzo’s 2023 season got off to a hot start, including a three-homer game against Baltimore back in April. Everything changed when Rizzo collided with Padres’ Fernando Tatis on a pickoff play. Rizzo went on a short IL (concussion) stint before attempting a return. When he came back, Rizzo looked completely lost at the plate. After a few weeks of unwatchable play, the Yankees put Rizzo back on the IL and announced he was done for the remainder of 2023. Rizzo is due $17 million next year, but we don’t even know if he remembers how to play baseball. The Yankees must break down the stats and analytics of both veterans' 2023 season and decide which one is more likely to return to form in 2024. The selected player will start at first base and the other should be DFAed.
Austin Wells & Jose Trevino:
24-year-old catcher Austin Wells, was called up late in the year, once the Yankees threw in the white flag. The Yanks had Wells called up to see if his talent can translate to the professional level and if he can be reliable behind the plate next year. Wells’ career hasn’t exactly gotten off to the strongest of starts but I still believe he will be a solid left handed bat in the lineup in 2024. Wells will split the catching duties with the veteran Jose Trevino.
Trevino is a great defensive catcher and was an All-Star in 2022. Trevino was held back by a handful of injuries in 2023 but should be ready to go in the spring. In addition, splitting the workload with Austin Wells should help prevent injuries.
The Starting Rotation:
Gerrit Cole:
Gerrit Cole is the defined ace of New York’s rotation. As of September 14th Cole is 13-4 with a 2.79 ERA. This is Cole's third consecutive season with over 200 strikeouts. 2024 will be Cole’s 5th year of his 9-year contract with the Yankees. I expect Gerrit Cole to be dominant yet again in year 5.
Clarke Schmidt:
During his breakout 2023 campaign, the once top prospect is finally developing into the pitcher we knew he could be. Clarke Schmidt has been one of the only consistent guys in New York’s shaky 2023 rotation. Schmidt has established himself as part of the rotation by stepping up when others went down and accounting for 14 wins and over 140 innings pitched. I’m excited to see how Schmidt will build off the success next year and continue moving in the right direction.
Carlos Rodon:
Whether Yankee fans like it or not, Carlos Rodon will be part of the rotation again in 2024. Rodon’s first year in pinstripes was incredibly disappointing, to say the least. However, the Yankees inked him to a 6-year deal worth $162 million. As of right now, there’s no light at the end of the tunnel. The Yanks have to try to fix Rodon, hopefully a fully healthy 2024 season will help him get back on track.
Will Warren:
Will Warren is currently New York’s number 10 prospect. The 24-year-old right handed pitcher had a career year in the minors in 2023, going 9-4 with 132 strikeouts and an ERA of 3.55. Warren is expected to be ready for the pros sometime during the 2024 season and considering the fact that the Yankees lack depth in their rotation, I assume we’ll see him sooner rather than later.
Randy Vasquez:
Even though it’s unideal to have two rookies in the starting rotation, I believe that it’s New York’s best option. The 24-year-old right handed pitcher is the Yankees’ number 14 prospect and looked good in his small sample of pro ball in 2023. As of September 14th, as a Yankee Vasquez has thrown over 30 innings while striking out 25 batters and posting an ERA of 2.67. The stat that stands out to me is his opponents’ .189 batting average. If Vasquez can continue pitching well in 2024 he’ll be a solid piece in the back end of the rotation.
Domingo German?:
Despite all his talent, Domingo German has had multiple off the field issues throughout his career. The latest update was in the first week of August when he entered alcohol rehab after he reportedly “grew belligerent” in the clubhouse. The Yankees must decide if the drinking was the source of all the issues or just another one on the list. If it was the source, and German is in fact fixing his problems, he can play a key role in the Yankees rotation in 2024. However, if not, if it’s another roadblock, there is no place for German on the Yankees roster or in professional baseball as a whole.
The Bench:
In my opinion the best way to select a team’s bench players is finding guys that can be used in as many situations as possible. It is important to have a balance of left handed and right handed bats on the bench while still being able to cover all nine positions. The Yankees can chose to carry 3 or 4 position players on the bench, depending on how they construct their bullpen, so I’ll list my ideal-3:
Oswaldo Cabrera:
Hits: Switch. Fields: LF/RF/3B/2B
Isiah Kiner-Falefa:
Hits: Right handed. Fields: LF/CF/RF/3B/SS
Jake Bauers:
Hits: Left handed. Fields: LF/RF/1B
I cannot guarantee anything but in my opinion if the Yankees put said roster together for 2024 they will have the best chance of improving. The 2023 Yankees were old and slow, while my hypothetical 2024 Yankees are young and athletic. My roster has 8 players under 25 playing key roles. Hopefully getting younger will help the Yankees equip their squad to make a run at their 28th World Series in the near future.
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