After a disappointing 2023 season, the New York Yankees have revamped their roster to achieve their goal of winning their 28th World Series title in franchise history. To get back to the postseason, the Bronx Bombers will either need to win a stacked AL East division with postseason-caliber teams like the Blue Jays, Orioles and Rays, or be one of the three wild card teams in the AL.
With the addition of Juan Soto, a three-time All-Star and four-time Silver-Slugger award winner, the Yankees hope their offense improves this season. The team also traded for Alex Verdugo and Trent Grisham. The Yankees added these left-handed hitters to take advantage of the short porch in Yankee Stadium.
While the Yankees’ pitching has been consistent throughout multiple seasons, their offensive performance has fluctuated. The 2021 Yankees were ranked 19th in runs scored, and in the subsequent season they were ranked . In 2023, the Yankees were an abysmal 25th in runs scored, mainly due to Aaron Judge and Anthony Rizzo’s injuries during the season.
The Yankees also signed pitcher Marcus Stroman, a two-time All-Star and Long Island native. Although the Yankees have the reigning Cy Young winner Gerrit Cole, there are still multiple question marks in their starting rotation.
Carlos Rodon, a starting pitcher they acquired in the 2023 offseason, is coming off of a disappointing 2023 season where he posted a 6.85 ERA while battling injuries throughout the season. The Yankees hope Rodon will be a consistent number-two pitcher due to his past performance on the mound.
Gerrit Cole’s injury will be a major story throughout the beginning of this season due to the lack of starting pitching depth on the roster. He will be re-evaluated in a month after the diagnosis of nerve inflammation in his elbow.
The Yankees missed out on signing the reigning NL Cy Young winner Blake Snell, who signed with the San Francisco Giants. The Yankees will rely on non-established starting pitchers like Luis Gil and Clarke Schmidt to round out their rotation during the beginning of the season.
Yankees fans have a lot of reasons to be optimistic about the 2024 season. Two of the best hitters in the MLB, Judge and Soto, are hitting back-to-back in the lineup. Their bullpen is still one of the best in the MLB, and the acquisitions of Verdugo and Stroman bring two of the fiercest players in the league to the Bronx.
Every team in the MLB has a clean slate at the start of the regular season, so it isn’t completely unreasonable for fans to think that the Bronx Bombers can win number 28 in 2024.