The Yankees’ 2024 starting rotation could be insane with a bit of luck

The New York Yankees are clearly looking to be aggressive this off-season and turn over some major weaknesses over the next few months. Their ongoing negotiations with the San Diego Padres for Juan Soto make it clear that they have big goals, and adding more offensive firepower is undoubtedly one of them.

However, the Yankees got disappointing production from their starting rotation in 2023, aside from Gerrit Cole, who won the American League Cy Young award. General manager Brian Cashman has an opportunity to go out and sign one of the best free agents on the market, all while retaining a key arm with substantial upside.

In this scenario, we will assume the Yankees trade Clarke Schmidt for Soto, so let’s take a look at what the rotation may look like with a bit of luck.

Cole retains his “ace” moniker coming off of Cy Young season at 33 years old. He pitched 209 innings, the second-highest total in his career, hosting a 2.63 ERA, 3.16 FIP, including 9.56 strikeouts per nine, an 80.4% left-on-base rate, and a 39.6% ground ball rate. He posted his lowest HR/FB ratio at 9.4% since 2016 with the Pittsburgh Pirates.