If you watched any of the 2023 Yankees after June 3, the day Aaron Judge barreled thru the right field fence in Los Angeles, you know they were just not a good team. Not that I believe Judge getting injured caused the downward spiral, it was honestly just the place that most people point the finger to as the excuse. This team had a glaring hole in LF that they thought Aaron Hicks, who hadn't stayed healthy or been productive in years, could fill. And if he couldn't they were going to try retreads like Franchy Cordero & Willie Cordero out there. I have no issue with trying to catch lightning in a bottle, but the Yankees have taken this to the level of New England Patriots type arrogance that anyone we put out there in the pinstripes is going to just magically work out. And they failed, with every single one of them this season, and most of them every season since the early 2000's.
The difference between those teams and these was the manager was allowed to manage the team and the organization understood these types of players could be role players, not everyday key pieces to a team that they believed could contend for a championship.
Moving on to the offseason here is what I think a few keys are to fix this team for 2024:
Changes start at the top:
I will say I absolutely believe both Brian Cashman & Aaron Boone will be back for the 2024 season, but without significant changes & improvement I think this is the final season either is lock to have a job in the Bronx. Cashman seems to be at the stage of his career where the everyday grind of evolving with the game is passing him by. His analytics department is not effective & stale , and the roster construction has glaring holes every year. He continues to bring in retreads over giving young players like Florial (and Clint Frazier before him) legit real opportunities. They need to fully evaluate the office and coaching staff and make the changes needed to get back to being successful. Find people that have worked for successful organizations like Houston & Tampa Bay, bring them in and let them help you rebuild your analytics department. Makes changes to the coaching staff that show you will not just sit by and watch the terrible play we saw this year. A team who's Cleanup Hitter had a batting avg. under .200 for more than half the season should be looking for a hitting coach with a totally different approach, not trying to bring a guy with no coaching experience back. That goes to show the main issue with the manager which I believe is that Boone has lost the pulse of the team and they have mostly tuned him out. I feel the only coach who should be safe is Matt Blake, he's done a good job and the pitching staff, when healthy, was not the issue. Any way you slice it they need to makes changes and get the players all to buy in.
Rebound Seasons:
While pitching wasn't the problem, it doesn't mean we don't need it to be better. Carlos Rodon needs to be healthy and pitch like the number 2 starter he was signed to be. Also needs to prove he can actually handle the pressure that comes with NY, which at times this year was very questionable. We also need the 2022 Nestor Cortes to be the real him. These guys will be very important pieces behind Gerrit Cole. As far as the lineup goes if DJ LeMahieu & Giancarlo Stanton are going to be part of the 2024 roster they have to be better. Stanton can not be a .190 hitter in the middle of this lineup, DJ at this point in his career I don't want to see him near the top of the order, if he can be a productive 7 hitter I'd be happy, but he has to be better. They have to help bring the length back to the lineup if the truly want to compete with teams like Houston.
Rattle The Cage:
Do what you can to shake up this underperforming roster. You won't see a big market for Stanton, but that doesn't mean you don't make calls and see what it would take as far as eating money to move on. With the depth at Catcher I'd move Higgy, there will be a market for him and you should at the minimum be able to get a bench player or bullpen arm for him. A decision needs to me made on what position Oswald Peraza is going to play in 2024, if it's 2B you need to trade Gleyber Torres. There will absolutely be no shortage of interested teams in Torres, whether it be individually or in a package deal. The key is to bring in quality Major League talent in return. No more taking on the Josh Donaldson's , it's time to change your roster building philosophy and lengthen the lineup. Aaron Judge needs to be put in the 3 hole in the lineup and left there, this nonsense with him hitting 2nd has produced no success for the club. He needs to get up with guys on base in front of him and be your middle of the order force. I know everyone wants to see a big move like Juan Soto, I just don't believe that is happening, unless like I said they figure out a way to rid themselves of Stanton. Signing Cody Bellinger is a much more feasible option to me, he can play CF till Dominguez is back then move to LF, perfect lefty bat for Yankee Stadium.
I know this still leaves some bullpen questions and 3B as well, but it's a start. Any way you look at it this is a big offseason for our Yankees, let's stay tuned for how they handle it.
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