By Paul Semendinger
March 1, 2024
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We've made it to March. This is the month when Opening Day arrives. The long cold lonely winter's ending is, at least, on the horizon. (Truth be told, it wasn't a bad winter.)
I decided today to look at the 2024 Yankees optimistically today, to find one good stat or attribute about most of the Yankees.
With that as the background, here goes:
Anthony Rizzo - Before his concussion, through May 31, he was batting .303 with 11 homers and 32 runs batted in.
Gleyber Torres - His 119 OPS+ was his highest since 2019. It can be argued that Gleyber Torres, at just 27-years-old, is just starting to hit his stride.
Anthony Volpe - As a rookie, the kid hit 21 homers, stole 24 bases, and won a Gold Glove.
D.J. LeMahieu - In last season's second half, he batted .273 and had a .377 On Base Percentage.
Alex Verdugo - In the first half of last season, he batted .290.
Juan Soto - The man is a superstar. What more needs to be said?
Trent Grisham - His On Base Percentage (.315) in 2023 was higher than the Yankees' OBP as a team (.304). He's also an elite defender.
Aaron Judge - He just might be the best player in the game today. What more needs to be said?
Giancarlo Stanton - He came to camp in fantastic shape indicating the very real possibility that he's going to have a bounce back season.
Jose Trevino - He is fully healthy and rested. He batted .304 vs left-handed pitching in 2022.
Austin Wells - He homered once every 17.5 at bats in 2023. With 400 at bats, he would blast 23 home runs.
Gerrit Cole - The man just won the Cy Young Award. He might be the best starting pitcher in the game.
Carlos Rodon - Over two seasons 2021 and 2022, he went 27-13, 2.67. He came to camp in great shape looking to regain his old form.
Marcus Stroman - Over the last three seasons, he made no fewer than 25 starts in any season.
Clarke Schmidt - Given a chance to start regularly, he had his best season making 33 starts and going 9-9.
Nestor Cortes - Even though he was injured in 2023, he still had a .714 winning percentage.
These are many many reasons to be excited and optimistic about the 2024 Yankees!!!
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Nothing wrong with looking at the positive side of things! Everybody knows the numbers from last season - the Yankees offense was abysmal. I wouldn't say the offense has been fixed, but I would say it's better balanced. The Yankees injury woes last season were, as I"ve written, the third most significant of any team in the League - a combined 28 players went down for a total of 2,154 days missed - which cost the Yankees $82.1 million. Personally, if I was Hal Steinbrenner, heads would have rolled this offseason, starting with Brian Cashman's. Having major injury woes season after season shouldn't be the norm, so injuries have been a massive problem for the Yannkees -- MUCH more so…
When I view the team, I look at it mostly in comparison to last year’s team.
C = Wells/Trevino - Upgrade
Trevino was hurt most of the year and Wells will probably be an upgrade offensively from Higgy
1 = Rizzo - Upgrade
We got basically nothing from Rizzo after June, so there is big potential for a rebound
2B = Torres - Even
Contract year, we should get more of the same production
SS = Volpe - Upgrade
With another year of experience, he should improve at the plate
3B = DJ/Peraza? - Even
If fully healthy, DJ could be an improvement, but only time will tell
OF = Judge - Even
OF = Soto - Huge Upgrade
OF…
Cashman did not do nearly enough. The Yankees still have the same medical group of people with the same setup apparently. Matt Blake is still the in uniform Pitching Coach. Luis Rojas is still going to get a whole bunch of guys thrown out at home or 3rd because he doesn't make enough good choices. Dillon Lawson's personal pick to be his AHC, Casey Dykes is still here. The same HC & PC are at AAA, and there is a disconnect between the minors and majors. Is Boone going to be allowed to make out the lineup card?
they improved what was a pretty good offense beset by injury,
might have a bit of defensive strain if they attempt to fit both Soto and Stanton in the line-up.
the rotation might be pretty good, perhaps one of the three best in the AL
but it might not be.
they might do well to add another front-end starter
as an addition to the rotation might result in strengthening the bullpen