The New York Yankees’ lineup just took on a whole new level late Wednesday night after the blockbuster acquisition of Juan Soto.
It’s a much-needed infusion of help for Aaron Judge, who after dealing with a toe injury that kept him out through the middle of the summer, proved that he can’t carry the Yankees’ lineup alone as he did in 2022. New York’s offense averaged the sixth-fewest runs per game in 2023, had the second-worst team batting average, and the sixth-worst OPS in baseball.
That’s expected to change drastically with Soto in their ranks.
Yankees’ 2024 projected starting lineup
1) DJ LeMahieu, 3B: Yankees manager Aaron Boone has already gone on record to say that LeMahieu will be the team’s starting third baseman in 2024. The 35-year-old is entering the fourth season of his six-year, $90 million deal and will look to bounce back from an uncharacteristic season. He slashed .243/.327/.390 last season — the worst slash line of his career — with 15 home runs and 44 RBI.
2) Aaron Judge, CF: There’s not much more about Judge. He’s healthy, he’s manning the No. 2 spot, and he’ll be one of the best power hitters in baseball. Even in 106 games last season, he hit 37 home runs. That’s a 162-game pace of 56 home runs after belting 62 in 2022.
3) Juan Soto, LF: Some Yankees fans might look to swap Judge and Soto here, but Judge has carved out his place at No. 2 and Soto is lethal in the No. 3 spot. In 1,070 at-bats in the three-hole, the 25-year-old superstar is slashing .288/.438/.548 (.986 OPS) with 73 home runs and 228 RBI.
4) Giancarlo Stanton, DH: To keep the distribution of lefties to righties at 1-to-1, Stanton gets put in the No. 4 hole with more than enough support around him to get him something to hit. At this rate, there’s nowhere else to go but up for the veteran slugger, who hit a career-worst .191 with a .696 OPS to go with 24 home runs and 60 RBI.
5) Anthony Rizzo, 1B: The Yankees botched the left-handed Rizzo’s concussion problem last season, which should allow one to throw the results away. Another lefty power bat to lengthen the lineup, Rizzo should flirt with 30 home runs again in 2024.
6) Gleyber Torres, 2B: Last season was imperative for Torres to put that nightmare 2021 campaign firmly in the rearview. He posted an .800 OPS and 25 home runs for the first time since his massive 2019 season.
7) Alex Verdugo, RF: Verdugo should perform as advertised in the Bronx after being acquired from the rival Red Sox on Tuesday. The left-handed bat should see a bump in power production, but this is a .280 hitter that can help lengthen out the bottom of the lineup.
8) Anthony Volpe, SS: It’s not easy to take the mantle of “franchise shortstop” in the Bronx, but Volpe provided a promising first step in his rookie year. He was a 20-20 player but batted just .209 while providing average fielding metrics in terms of range, but not so much in terms of arm strength.
9) Austin Wells, C: Wells is the No. 7 ranked prospect within the Yankees’ system and has a golden opportunity to bolster down the starting job in 2024. In 70 MLB at-bats last year, he posted a .743 OPS with four home runs (19 games) and 13 RBI. He’s an offensive catcher and a left-handed batter, which Yankees fans will like, but his defense will need work.
