New York Yankees Hailed As Most Improved At This Position
The New York Yankees have one of the most improved position groups in baseball going into the 2024 season. And it’s not just because they spent money and made trades to do it.
The data backs it up too. Recently MLB.com sought to determine which teams had improved the most at each position group so far in the offseason.
To make that determination, MLB.com reviewed FanGraphs wins above replacement data and compared the leaderboards from 2023 with their projections for 2024.
The Yankees, thanks to a series of moves, have the most improved outfield group based on WAR data. They moved from No. 25 at the end of last season to a projected No. 1 ranking going into 2024.
The Yankees made three moves to improve their outfield. The first was the biggest, and that was the trade to acquire Juan Soto in December.
The slugger just agreed to a one-year, $31 million deal with the Yankees for 2024, which was his final arbitration season. It broke Shohei Ohtani’s record for a one-year arbitration salary, set last offseason at $30 million.
Soto is coming off a 2023 in which he batted .275/.410/.519/.930 with 35 home runs and 109 RBI. He also went to the All-Star Game for the third time and played in every game of a season for the first time in his career. He finished sixth in National League MVP voting.
The second improvement came with Soto in the trade. The Yankees took on outfielder Trent Grisham as a way to balance out the deal, one where the Yankees sent the San Diego Padres five players.
Grisham is a two-time Gold Glove with a career batting average of .216. He’s batted below .200 each of the past two seasons. He’ll serve as a backup outfielder who brings a plus glove to the position group.
The third improvement is Alex Verdugo, whom the Yankees acquired in a trade from the Boston Red Sox. Verdugo’s glove has a fine reputation and he’s coming off a 2023 in which he batted .264 with 13 home runs and 54 RBI. He’s hit at least 30 doubles in each of the last three seasons.
Soto and Verdugo are the likely starters alongside Aaron Judge, who is a year removed from being named the 2022 AL MVP after breaking Roger Maris’ AL record for most home runs in a season.
