Yankees' best-case and worst-case scenarios for 2024
By Bill Felber
Yankees' Worst-Case Scenario for 2024
Cole, Judge and Soto may be three of the surest bets in sports (if healthy), but beyond that, the potential pitfalls to a successful 2024 in the Bronx are numerous. As noted above, save for Cole, virtually every likely rotation starter is coming off either a bad 2023 (Rodón), a bad second half of 2023 (Stroman) or virtually no 2023 at all (Cortes). Who’s to say any of those guys return to form?
It wasn’t that long ago that Anthony Rizzo was a great offensive force. But he’s 34 now and coming off the worst season of his major league career. The Yankees believe Rizzo’s .244 average and relative lack of power were aberrations, caused by a line of demarcation/the aftereffects of a concussion he suffered. What if it was, instead, the start of a trend?
Re-read the above paragraph substituting the name of DJ LeMahieu for Rizzo and changing the age from 34 to 35. Then re-read it a third time substituting the name of Stanton. Now how do you feel about the Yankee offense?
If Stroman, Cortes and Rodón all pitch like they did over the final three months of 2023, and if Rizzo, LeMahieu and Stanton all continue their decline phase, the Yanks’ 82-80 record of 2023 may actually look good.