Yankees facing plenty of questions heading into spring training
While spring training represents a new start for every team, there’s no denying that last year’s “disaster” of a season – that’s how Brian Cashman described it – is coloring expectations for the Yankees in 2024.
The fourth-place, playoff-less finish certainly came up during the offseason, a stretch that yielded significant improvements but not every splash the Yankees and their frustrated fans desired. Now faces old and new will work to insure that last season was just a fluke.
“We’re better than that,” Cashman said in January. “Our fans deserve better than that, and we’re intending on running a 2024 season in a much better light.”
While plenty of Yankees have already made their way to Tampa, the team’s pitchers and catchers must officially report to camp by Wednesday. Position players have to do the same by Feb. 19.
With that in mind, let’s look at some of the biggest questions facing a team that must correct course this year.
DID CASHMAN DO ENOUGH THIS OFFSEASON?
The Yankees had one of the busiest winters in baseball, headlined by the blockbuster trade for Juan Soto. Pairing the 25-year-old with Aaron Judge will work wonders for an offense that sputtered for most of last season.
Alex Verdugo, another outfielder who hits from the left side, should help as well. He’s coming off a league-average season offensively, but that’s still a noticeable improvement compared to what the Yankees had in left field last year. Trent Grisham, acquired alongside Soto, offers strong defensive outfield depth that the Yankees often lacked in 2023.
The Yankees also made solid additions to their bullpen, acquiring left-handers Caleb Ferguson and Victor González in separate trades with the Dodgers.
If anyone is going to ding Cashman’s offseason, it’s because he didn’t acquire a top-shelf starter. The Yankees tried for Japanese star Yoshinobu Yamamoto, but he picked a record-setting deal with the Dodgers. Meanwhile, the division rival Orioles acquired Corbin Burnes, a major boon in their efforts to defend their AL East title.
While the Yankees did not get the surefire ace they wanted, they did sign Marcus Stroman to a team-friendly deal. The righty makes for a nice middle-of-the-rotation upgrade, but he and those around him will have to stay healthy if the Yankees are to succeed.
HOW HEALTHY WILL THE ROTATION BE?
It feels like the Yankees’ entire season hinges on this question after injuries decimated the starting staff before the 2023 campaign even began.
Carlos Rodón and Nestor Cortes were among the repeat victims, and they weren’t very effective when on the mound. Stroman, meanwhile, battled his own injuries in Chicago in the second half last year, and he’s fallen short of 140 innings each of the last two seasons.
All three pitchers have been All-Stars in the last two years, though, so it’s not like this group lacks talent. The leader of it, Gerrit Cole, is coming off the first Cy Young win of his career and has already thought about ways to improve. Meanwhile, Clarke Schmidt, the projected fifth starter, showed lots of growth last season. However, he blew past his career-high for innings pitched. His 2024 workload is something to keep an eye on after he battled injuries earlier in his career.
The Yankees look better prepared for a worst-case scenario this season, at least on paper. Last year, they had to rely on relatively unknown and unseasoned arms like Jhony Brito and Randy Vásquez as injuries piled up. This offseason, the team retained or acquired depth options with some experience, like Luke Weaver, Cody Poteet and Cody Morris. Prospects like Will Warren, Clayton Beeter and Chase Hampton also come with higher expectations than Brito and Vásquez did.
Luis Gil and Yoendrys Gómez could also impact the rotation in the event of an emergency.
CAN GIANCARLO STANTON AND OTHER VETERAN HITTERS REBOUND?
Injuries also hindered the Yankees’ offense in 2023, as did poor performances from high-paid veterans. Giancarlo Stanton fell into both buckets, as he hit .191/.275/.420 over 101 games following an early-season hamstring injury.
Stanton has hit .202 with a .286 on-base percentage over the last two seasons while totaling 211 games.
At the GM Meetings in November, Cashman offered some blunt remarks on Stanton’s injury history, stating that the slugger will likely miss time again this year. Those comments led to a public back-and-forth with Stanton’s agent, and the Yankees have since said to expect a leaner Stanton. An offseason photo of the player suggested the same.
But Stanton was hardly the only vet to struggle last year. Anthony Rizzo endured the worst two months of his career while unknowingly playing through post-concussion symptoms. The Yankees have said that the first baseman ready to go and that doctors are not concerned about regression, but Cashman has noted that brain injuries are always tricky.
The Yankees are also hoping that DJ LeMahieu can put together a strong year from start to finish. The infielder was awful in the first half last season, hitting .220. However, LeMahieu improved after the All-Star break, batting .273 over his last 60 games.
On multiple occasions over the winter, Aaron Boone has praised LeMahieu’s offseason work.
WILL ANTHONY VOLPE MAKE SIGNIFICANT STRIDES IN YEAR 2?
Anthony Volpe didn’t have a bad rookie season, as he joined the 20-20 club and won a God Glove. But he didn’t have a good debut, either.
His .209 average, .283 OBP, 81 OPS+ and 52:167 walk-to-strikeout ratio all have to improve. Fortunately for the shortstop, he was known for controlling the zone as a prospect, and Boone expects to see strides in that department this year. Volpe recently acknowledged that he needs to be more consistent as a sophomore.
If he can do that and boost his numbers, the 22-yearold could develop into an ideal leadoff man before his second season ends.