By Avi Wizwer
As the New York Yankees concluded the 2023 Major League Baseball (MLB) season, many fans were disappointed as the standards and expectations of one of the best organizations in all of MLB were not met. With a record of 82-80, the Yankees just barely avoided their first losing season since 1992. Despite having 31 winning seasons, their drought of a World Series is now 5,026 days and counting.
A good start to the season was easily derailed by their star player Aaron Judge struggling with injuries. A team that usually exceeds expectations in their offensive game soon struggled when their captain went down. Players like Giancarlo Stanton, DJ Lemahieu, and Anthony Rizzo were unable to carry the load offensively.
As a whole team, the batting average was .227, which placed them fourteenth in the American League. The Yankees were batting with players like Michael King becoming a great addition to the team, posting a 1.88 earned run average (ERA) over eight starts, which helped the Yankees’ pitching staff. Gerrit Cole finally stepped back into form, posting a 15-4 record and 2.64 ERA in 33 starts, leading the league in ERA and an outstanding winning percentage of .789. This showed the dominance of one of the MLB’s best starting pitchers.
As the Yankees were unable to make the playoffs, they started off the 2023 MLB off-season with an incredible win by securing star Juan Soto, a 25-year-old outfielder, who has had a wonderful 2023 season. He averaged a monstrous .275 batting average with 35 home runs and a total of 109 runs batted in while playing in 162 games. Ranking ninth in the majors in on-base plus slugging, this is where Soto can help the Yankees.
It was a seven-player package deal that included Soto, and the Yankees received outfielder Trent Grisham. San Diego received King, Jhony Brito, Randy Vasquez, starting pitching prospect Drew Thorpe, and catcher Kyle Higashioka.