What do you get for the team that can acquire everything? The New York Yankees failed to sign Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who accepted $325 million from the Los Angeles Dodgers.
But the Yankees managed to trade Juan Soto, a player they hope to sign long-term as he enters his replacement year. Looking ahead to the rest of the offseason, here are three things the New York Yankees would like to see under the tree on Christmas Day. SIGN SHOTA IMANAGA Well, the Yankees couldn’t sign Yamamoto, but he’s not the only Pacific Rim quality pitcher on the free agent market. Shota Imanaga is a 30-year-old left-hander who would bring experience to the Yankees’ rotation and is coming off a 2023 in which he struck out nearly 30 percent of the batters he faced. He also struck out just 3.8 percent of the batters he faced. He’s a different pitcher than Yamamoto, but he has quality. He would also cost a lot less than Yamamoto (maybe $100 million) and wouldn’t require a 10-year contract (maybe Imanaga only needs five years). He’s pitched 1,000 innings overseas, so there’s some risk for the Yankees. But the Yankees have an open spot in the rotation and a pitcher if the Imanaga man would be a good fit. HEALTH FOR THE BATTER Since 2019, Giancarlo Stanton has played 391 matches out of a possible 698. Injuries were his kryptonite.A look back at his last healthy season in 2018 in the Bronx. He hit .266 with 38 home runs and 100 RBIs. This is the performance we expect from a player of his stature. Last season, he hit .191 with 24 homers and 60 RBIs in 101 games. The previous season, in 2022, he hit .211 with 31 home runs and 78 RBIs in 110 games. Yes, there are other ways to measure a hitter’s value. But batting average and health still matter. Stanton has shown what he can do when healthy. Entering his age-35 season, the Yankees need a healthy Stanton to fill the designated hitter spot every day and produce like the hitter he was five years ago. To do this he needs his health. DJ REFUND The New York Yankees are committed to DJ LeMahieu at third base for the 2024 season. They could use the LeMahieu they got in 2019 when he joined the team and gave them a .327 batting average with 26 home runs and 102From? He had an exceptionally short season in 2020, hitting .364 in 50 games. But his average has dropped over the past three seasons to .243 in 2023 in 136 games, with 15 home runs and 44 RBI. There was speculation that the Yankees would try to get rid of LeMahieu somehow and play for a third baseman like Matt Chapman. It appears the Yankees will stick with LeMahieu into 2024. Acquiring Soto helps, but beyond Stanton’s health, the Yankees need LeMahieu to bring him back for 2019.
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