NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 05: New York Yankees head coach Joe Girardi talks with catcher Brian McCann during his introductory press conference at Yankee Stadium on December 5, 2013 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
Yankees signed a Superstar Fireballer In Possible Surprise Move
The New York Yankees already have made one major move this offseason and could have at least one more up their sleeves before the 2024 season comes around. New York has been in the news lately as it heavily pursued former Orix Buffaloes ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto. At one point it seemed like the Yankees were actually going to land the young star, but things didn’t work out. The Los Angeles Dodgers landed Yamamoto with a massive contract recently leading the Yankees to have to regroup and consider its options.
Luckily for New York, there still are plenty of intriguing options available to help the club in 2024. If the Yankees opt to bolster the bullpen, one player who could be an option is superstar fireballer Josh Hader, according to SNY’s Anthony McCarron. “Over the past three seasons, the Yanks have built terrific bullpens, finishing fourth in (Major League Baseball) in relief ERA in 2021 (3.56) and then third (2.97) and first (3.34) over the next two years,” McCarron said. So maybe they wallpaper their bullpen with elite arms to keep other teams from scoring and sign Josh Hader (1.28 ERA with San Diego last year) and Jordan Hicks (81 strikeouts in 65.2 innings over two stops) to add toClay Holmes, et al? Old pal David Robertson is a free agent, too.” Hader is one of the best relief pitchers in baseball and would be a major pickup for the Yankees. He would be extremely expensive, but adding him would go a long way in cementing the Yankees as having the best bullpen in baseball again in 2024.
After requiring Juan Soto, the New York Yankees will likely play it safe at the top of the batting order in 2024. The expectation is that DJ LeMahieu will feature as the primary lead-off hitter, with Soto and Aaron Judge close behind. LeMahieu is coming off a polarizing 2023 season, but he picked things up significantly after the All-Star break once former hitting coach Dillon Lawson was fired.
LeMahieu hit .220/.285/.357 pre-All-Star break last season, but his numbers elevated to .273/.377/.432 after the break, suggesting a major swing in production. This seems to have been a fundamental tweak since a difference of this magnitude isn’t normal.
With that being said, LeMahieu should be able to get on base at a relatively decent clip and hit for contact, making him a fine lead-off man in the interim. The problem is that DJ lacks athleticism, ranking in the 12th percentile in sprint speed. Getting on base for Soto and Judge is fine and dandy, but he won’t be able to steal bags at an appropriate clip to help get into a scoring position.
In a perfect world, Yankees’ young shortstop Anthony Volpe would develop into the team’s lead-off hitter. At 22 years old, Volpe set a franchise record of 24 stolen bases in his rookie season. However, he only hit .209/.283/.383 in 159 games. He needs to lower his strike-out rate from 27.8% and boost his base percentage to at least 32%.
