With the offseason in full swing, the Yankees need to make some moves. The Yankees went 82-80 and had their worst record since 1992. A major disappointment after a 99-win season the year prior. The main concerns for the team: a reliable starter besides King & Cole, a replacement center fielder until Jasson Dominguez comes back, a corner outfielder, a potential replacement at second base, and Ohtani.

Who to keep: The only Yankees who should be re-signed are Wandy Peralta (RP), Isaiah Kiner-Falefa (UTL), & Kenyan Middleton (RP). Wandy Peralta has been one of the best and most reliable bullpen arms since joining the team in 2021 and should definitely be re-signed to a 2-year, 8-million-dollar contract. IKF is the ultimate utility player and is a great piece for the Yanks to keep. He should get 2 years, 14 million. Kenyan Middleton was very solid in his time with the Yanks but should still get a 1-year prove-it deal to show he can really play in New York. 1 year 1 million is a solid contract for a season. 

Reliable starter: Gerrit Cole is most likely going to win his first Cy Young award this year which is obviously well deserved but, besides Cole, what other starters can the Yanks depend on? Michael King is definitely an option. He was converted into a starter late in the season and excelled in this role allowing 5 earned runs in 17 innings. Nestor Cortes & Carlos Rodon are obviously both options as the two former All-Stars should be fully healthy for 2024. That leaves a question about the #5 spot in the rotation. Yes, the Yanks have Clark Schmidt but if they want a chance to get some of the other positions they need via trade he will, most likely, be shipped off. The Yankees need to sign Yoshinobu Yamamoto. The star from Japan was extremely dominant in his last season with the Orix Buffaloes before going to the MLB. The Yanks have had success signing Japanese stars and could totally use another ace to pair with Cole and healthy Rodon. He should be signed for a 7-year, 180 million-dollar contract. With Yomamato, the rotation could go one of two ways. One way, 1. Gerrit Cole 2. Carlos Rodon 3. Michael King 4. Yoshinobu Yamamoto 5. Nestor Cortes, the other, 1. Gerrit Cole 2. Carlos Rodon 3. Nestor Cortes 4. Yoshinobu Yamamoto 5. Clarke Schmidt with Michael King moving back to the bullpen. The better of the two is definitely the first option with King at the three, Yamamoto at the 4, and Cortes at the 5.

Replacement center fielder: Jasson Dominguez came up last year and made an immediate impact on the 8 games he played before tearing his UCL. The kid definitely earned his stripes so far and the future looks bright but for at least until the All-Star Break the Yanks need a Center-Fielder. The clear option is Kevin Kiermaier. He has come out recently and expressed his interest in playing for the Yankees making him the perfect fit. Kiermaier is a  great defensive center fielder, has good speed, is a lefty bat, and wants to be there. Another + is the familiarity he has with the AL East as he has spent his whole career in the division (TB & TOR). A 1 year, 8 million dollars should work for both sides.

Corner outfielder: Juan Soto must be a Yankee by the end of the offseason if they plan on becoming world champions again. The Padres are in a big financial hole and moving off of Soto would help massively. For the Yankees side of things a star lefty bat with Hall of Fame potential, who according to sources wants to be on the East Coast, should be a must-have and one of the top things on the to-do list. The Yankees would have to give up a lot but would be worth it in my mind. The Yanks would have to give up Drew Thorpe (SP), Everson Pereira (OF), Oswald Peraza, & Clarke Schmidt (SP) to get Soto which is a lot but well worth it.

Second Base Replacement: A lot of noise has come out around Gleyber Torres and the very real possibility that he does not come back as a Yankee. Not only would this be disappointing from a fan’s perspective, as Gleyber has been a star on the team since 2018 but this would mean the absence of his bat which was the best on the team last year. The whole infield would need to be switched around with the absence of Gleyber which would hurt the team as well. DJ Lemahieu definitely stepped up in the second half of last year and can hopefully continue that at third/second base in 2024. Matt Chapman at third base could be solid on a 2-year, 16 million-dollar contract to play third with Lemahieu at second. Switch-hitting Jeimer Candelario could also be a great addition to the bench. Overall the best possible outcome of the whole second base situation is getting Gleyber back but the Yankees look to be going a different route. 

Ohtani: Shohei Ohtani is the best player in baseball and at this point might very well be the greatest player of all time, but won’t be able to pitch until 2025. Even still, the thought of his bat with the short porch and then the two-way play in 2025 is very tempting. Ohtani most likely will be a Dodger but the door should stay open for him to join the Evil Empire.

After all the moves mentioned, this is a very realistic opening day lineup and rotation for the 2024 Yankees if they want their 28th title.

Lineup:

1. Anthony Volpe (SS)

2. Juan Soto (LF)

3. Aaron Judge (RF)

4. Anthony Rizzo (1B)

5. Giancarlo Stanton (DH)

6. DJ Lemahieu (2B)

7. Matt Chapman (3B)

8. Jose Trevino (C)

9. Kevin Kiermaier (CF)

Bench: Austin Wells (C), Jeimer Candelario (INF),  Isaiah Kiner Falefa (UTL), & Oswaldo Cabrera (UTL). 

Rotation:

1. Gerrit Cole

2. Carlos Rodon 

3. Michael King

4. Yoshinobu Yamamoto

5. Nestor Cortes

Bullpen:  Albert Abreu, Kenyan Middleton, Ian Hamilton, Ron Marinaccio, Nick Ramirez, Tommy Kahnle, Wandy Peralta, & Clay Holmes.

This would be a very competitive team that is capable of winning the World Series, especially with the return of Jasson Dominguez in June-July. Gleyber Torres in the lineup looks better on paper but I don’t think he is returning and that the infield I have in the lineup is more realistic as far as a future without him.