The New York Yankees have been linked to nearly every high-profile athlete available. New York needed to substantially upgrade the team this summer, and it has done that. The Yankees have filled some roster gaps by acquiring Juan Soto, Alex Verdugo, and Marcus Stroman. While this is true, New York is still not regarded as the best team in the American League East. The Baltimore Orioles won 101 games last season and recently added great pitcher Corbin Burnes in a blockbuster trade with the Milwaukee Brewers.
The Yankees were linked to Burnes on several occasions but were unable to reach an agreement. If the Yankees want to compete for the division title, they will most likely need to make another significant move. Cody Bellinger and Jordan Montgomery have been linked to the Yankees in a variety of ways this offseason. While moves remain doubtful, landing either would be fantastic for New York. If the Yankees change their minds and decide to make another huge move, they will have competition from the Philadelphia Phillies, who are considered sleepers to capture either Montgomery or Bellinger, according to USA Today Sports’ Bob Nightengale.
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The Baltimore Orioles made a significant move by obtaining 2021 Cy Young winner Corbin Burnes from the Milwaukee Brewers while keeping most of their MLB-leading prospect depth.
It was a blockbuster that immediately put all 2024 postseason contenders on notice, with several executives expressing envy and terror of the deal. In brief remarks about the change, New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone acknowledged that it will present a new challenge to his squad.
“That could be a bit of a problem,” Boone stated during an autograph signing event, according to the Athletic.
However, Boone is confident that the Yankees’ rotation “stacks up well against the division if healthy.”
How do the New York Yankees expect to fare against Corbin Burnes and the Baltimore Orioles?
In a small sample size, Burnes has historically been an issue for Yankees batters.
Last season, he pitched eight no-hit innings against the Yankees before being relieved. Aaron Judge went 0 for 3 with a strikeout. Giancarlo Stanton went 0 for 2 with a strikeout and a walk. In nine career at-bats against Burnes, Anthony Rizzo has struck out four times.
Their new teammates have performed better. Juan Soto faced Burnes once and hit a double, while outfielder Alex Verdugo has two hits and two strikeouts in five at-bats against him.
After dealing for Soto, their own blockbuster offseason acquisition, the Yankees are unlikely to be intimidated by any AL East pitching staff. The team’s lineup, including Soto and Judge, as well as Stanton, Rizzo, Verdugo, DJ LeMahieu, Anthony Volpe, and Jasson DomÃnguez, is expected to be strong.
However, in seeking to sound bullish about his rotation, Boone may have inadvertently highlighted the Yankees’ larger “problem”.
The New York Yankees can still pull off another blockbuster.
The Yankees now boast perhaps the finest starting pitcher in baseball, following ace Gerrit Cole’s Cy Young season, in which he limited opponents to a 2.63 ERA in 33 starts. But the rest of the rotation is a different story.
The other starters in 2023 were Clarke Schmidt, Jhony Brito, Domingo Germán and Nester Cortes, none of whom kept his ERA below 4.20.
To solve this, the Yankees signed Marcus Stroman, an All-Star for the Chicago Cubs last season. They have also been considered a potential landing site for Cole’s National League counterpart, 2023 Cy Young champion Blake Snell, but have yet to reach an agreement.
The Yankees, who rely heavily on Cole and Stroman, both of whom are over 30 years old and over 1,300 innings pitched, will need consistent health from both or significant improvement from others to win the AL East this season.
“With health, I think we’re going to be really good,” Boone said, according to The Athletic. “I’m very excited about some of the guys, like Carlos (Rodón) and Nestor (Cortes) coming off injury-riddled seasons…” Bringing in Marcus — we believe (the rotation) has a chance to be really good, but we need to go make it happen.”
Boone believes the rotation will become a strength in the grueling struggle for the division title in 2024. However, a huge pitching acquisition on the scale of Burnes for the Orioles would turn that optimism into a Yankees guarantee.
