Cody Bellinger & The 2024 New York Yankees

The Yankees are the most storied franchise in all of American sports history. 27 championship. They haven't won since 2009. Now 14 years isn't that long for most people, but it's very long for the Yankees. Let's rebuild the 2024 Yankees to see if they can win the World Series. They still have a really strong nucleus and team to move forward with right now. In 2023, they sit in second behind the New York Mets with a 278 million dollar payroll. If you look ahead at 2024, they're currently sitting at 189 million projected. They have about 90 million dollars they can spend before they're back where they were in 2023. And that's without losing any core nucleus guys. Everyone that's in arbitration is going to be returning. You got Aaron Judge, Garrett Cole, Carlos Rodon, DJ LeMay, who's going to be coming back. You can at least bounce him around the infield. I know not a lot of like some Yankees fans out there don't love DJ, but there's some versatility there at least in 15 million dollars isn't that much money. Giancarlo Stanton hit the peak of his contract and annual average salary this year at 32 million and he's going to make 32 million each of the next two seasons through age 35 and then he's got two more seasons at 29 mil and 25 mil to finish it off. Five more years of Giancarlo Stanton and honestly when he's healthy, he's still hitting at a 35-40 homer pace, but the health has been a serious issue. This is the one thing that could potentially really drag them on moving forward. That man has got to stay healthy. Now they do have some dead money. They got to pay Aaron Hicks nine and a half million dollars next year and Josh Donaldson is going to eat up another six. Much better than the 21 mil the Yankees have paid Donaldson each of the last two season though. They detached a huge trailer with that one. Jason Dominguez just had surgery on that elbow and he's most likely not going to be back until close to the All-Star game next season and since he's so young they might even be super patient with it. I want to hear what you guys would do if you were the Newark Yankees this offseason in the comment section down below. Let's get into some stuff that I think they should be doing. One mistake the Yankees have done over the last half decade that I just don't understand and it's not for lack of trying. They did go out and get Joey Gallo and he just didn't perform, but this team has been very right-handed dominant in a park with a notoriously short right field porch. One of the coolest things about baseball is that every stadium is different and there's weird pockets in so many different stadiums around the league where you can get soft or short or shallow home runs. There's certain stadiums where the ball just absolutely flies compared to others. At the end of the day, both teams are playing in the same field. Every team the Yankees play in Yankee Stadium can also homer over that wall, which brings me to my point. This team is too right-handed dominant. Aaron Judge is an alien, but you need more lefty thump in this lineup. I did just break down the Chicago Cubs last week in a franchise video and I think that the Cubbies should extend Cody Bellinger and keep him there. I must say, if he's not staying in Chicago, New York's probably the best spot for him. I've seen a ton of different perspectives on what people think Cody Bellinger's offseason free agency value is going to look like and that is a major question mark in this part of the video and conversation here. Cody Bellinger is a Scott Boris client who bet on himself on a one-year deal and won. He's got an MVP, a World Series, extremely marketable. In terms of war value this season, Cody Bellinger is sitting at $34.2 million. Now considering he hasn't posted a season higher than $14 million since 2019, $34 million is not going to be the number. In terms of play, age, injury history, I think most teams interested in Cody Bellinger in terms of play would be willing to spend between $20 and $25 million. Might see some more sprinkled in there because of the marketability. Maybe sprinkle a little bit more because of Scott Boris doing the negotiating. But either way, I think a team-friendly deal for Cody Bellinger would look something like a five-year $110 million contract and a more Scott Boris, Cody Bellinger-friendly deal would look more in the five to six-year $125 to $130 million. That's just my best guess, but I think that would be perfect for this Yankees team. You could even go as far as to do something like the Cubbies did with Dansby Swanson this year. The Cubs had over $40 million in dead money this year. They had to pay Jason Hayward $22 million in 2023. How did they compensate for that? They gave Dansby Swanson two extra million dollars at age 31, 32, and 33, which brings the average annual value of the contract up to 27 mil for those three seasons. And in the first year, this year, he only made $13 million. They shaved six or seven off the front and put it in the middle. One big thing that a lot of baseball fans don't think about with baseball contracts is they see five years, $125 million, 25 mil a year. That's not necessarily true. Mike at 15 mil, then 35 mil, then 25 mil, then 30 mil. They can shape it up however they want, and this is oftentimes how you can tell the difference between good and bad GMs. If the Yankees wanted to go to a five-year $130 million contract with Bellinger, they could set it up to where he gets 28, 29 mil in one or two years in the middle, and they only pay him 16, 17 million in year one. That can compensate for that six million you got to give Josh Donaldson next season. If that's not an option, he stays in Chicago. Maybe he even goes somewhere else. I think a solid backup plan, not as a starter or a full-time starter, especially not in center field, but just in the left-handed bat department, is Jock Peters. Someone I think would feast off of that short porch and right and would be a solid bat to plug in between those righties, whether it's platooning him with Stanton, leaving him in there full-time in those stretches where Stanton's not available. Realistically, the Yankees have enough money and space right now to go out and get both of those guys, especially with Jock Peters and his situation's most likely going to be another one- or two-year deal. Let's say Bellinger's on the books for 25 million, and you throw 20 at Jock Peters. That only puts the Yankees at about 235 million, still 45 million away from what they spent last season. You really don't have to worry about the starting pitching with his team. Garrett Cole, hopefully you get a full season out of Rodon, Nessar Cortes, Clark Schmitt's been a body this year, Luis Severino, Michael King has even emerged as a starting pitcher. He has been nasty since they gave him the ball to start games in the back half of this year. Biggest thing with their pitching staff, really, is just health. I don't know many Yankees fans that are out there clamoring for another starting pitcher this offseason, haven't seen much of it, think their staff's ready to roll, they legitimately just gotta stay on the field. Same thing with Stanton. Now, with about 30 or 40 million dollars left to spend, what could the Yankees possibly do to upgrade their bullpen? Oh, well, would you look at that. Josh Hader is a free agent. Even the elite relievers in Major League Baseball typically only get between 15 and 20 million dollars, so this isn't even one that would break the bank. They are a team that typically goes sure thing, and he's the most sure thing option there, so it makes sense, but they could also go another route. There's some solid less-than guys sitting there this offseason, too. Trevor Mays had a good season with the Oakland Athletics as a closer, pitching ninth innings. Rolled his Chapman, hint, hint. Pierce Johnson has pitched well for two different teams in 2023. He's gonna be an option. Let's hop on the sticks here and see what this team looks like now that I've made my adjustments. The outfield's gonna have as Waldo Cabrera, Jock Peterson sitting there. You're gonna be platooning Jock Peterson with Giancarlo Stanton at DH, and then going full-time with Jock if Stanton were to go down. Center field's gonna be Cody Bellinger, especially with Jason Dominguez on the shelf. Now, I'm just gonna go through. I'm gonna simulate the regular season, see if the Yankees make the playoff. Right here at the All-Star break, the Yankees are nine games behind the Blue Jays in the AL East, who are sitting at 60 and 37. My goodness. They are 3-7 in their last 10, though. The Rays are in second place. They're one game over us. They have a couple games in hand, though, it looks like. They're 54 and 47. Let's keep on simming. Oh, the boys are having a huge August. My goodness. Congratulations. The Yankees have finished the season 95 and 67 and won the division. Wow. They came back from a nine-game trail at the All-Star break and won the AL East at 95 wins. That's bananas. And would you look at that? They have a three-game series coming up against the Houston Astros, Christian Javier, Frambois Valdez, and Lance McCullers. Carlos Rodon pitched 209 innings on the season with a 3.4 ERA and 225 Ks. Garrett Cole went 213 with 233 strikeouts, and Luis Severino with 172 with a 3.8 ERA. We are gonna open with Rodon, who's a 93 overall above Garrett Cole. And here we go. The first inning. Three-nothing Yankees here halfway through this ballgame. Oh, no! A five-piece from the Astros in the middle. They're up two halfway through this game, and the Yankees are struggling. The Astros score six in the seventh. They're up 11-3. This is the most Yankees-Astros thing I've ever seen. They just left the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh. Another two-run shot in the eighth. The Yankees get those back, and this ballgame is over. Cooked. Done. 13-5 in Game 1. Here we go, American League Wild Card Game 2. I don't know why it's raining. I didn't pick that, but it's raining in New York for Game 2 of the Wild Card Series. This is a must-win game here at home. Let's see it. We are simulating through. I did it wrong the first time. I was pressing the wrong simulator. This is the—this is how we want to do it here. Moving a little bit slower so we can see it. They're loaded up! A huge inning! DJ LeMay, who clears the bases with a triple! Then a two-run double from Trevino! It is 8-0 early! What is it with the massive innings in this series? 9-0 is the score. Wow. The Astros are walking everybody, and the Yankees are cashing in. They get blown out after taking a lead in Game 1, and then they turn it around here and go up 13-0. 13-3. Bellinger gets a home run there in the 6th. There's your Yankees postseason Bellinger home run. The Yankees did fight back. That three-run home run in the 6th just to show some life, but they're down 11 late in this game, and that is going to be the ballgame. The Yankees have another three-run inning there in the 8th to make it 17-3, and then they win it, 17-3. We are tied up at 1-1. 1-1, and a best-of-three. Winner go home. Lance McCutlers versus Luis Severino. Let's do it. Whoo! Once again, Houston goes up 4 early. A big inning here to start Game 3. I'm once again doing this fast simulator by accident. It's 1st and 3rd in the bottom of the 9th. It all comes down to this. Jock Peterson, our free agent addition in the offseason, is up 2-1, down 1. Tying run at 3rd. A homer wins the game. We're going to swing away, and he flies out to end the season. The Yankees have an insane second half. They get eliminated. That was bananas. I got to simulate through one more season with this team. This man, Shohei Otani, went to the Detroit Tigers. The Oscar Hernandez to the Pirates. Blake Snell goes to the Atlanta Braves. Aaron Nola is a Minnesota twin. Well, I'll tell you what, the first half of the season to the second go-round is going much better, 37-21 through May. One eternity later. Congratulations, the Yankees have finished the season 91-71. You have made the postseason as a wildcard team and will be playing the Astros in the first round. Not only that, we're down Game 1 in the first round. They lose the first game 7-3. Here we go, elimination game once again. We could bounce out of the first round on the wildcard with the Astros twice. Well, at least it's not raining in Yankee Stadium. Game 2 of the American League wildcard. Carlos Rodon on the mound against Franber Valdez. Lefty, lefty. Here we go, baby. The Astros get things started with a Chaz McCormick solo shot in the top of the second inning to take the lead. What can the Yankees do to bounce back? So far, nothing. Four base hits, a couple base runners. DJ LeMay, who just got a single, and again, they strand that one. And just like that, Corey Lee, and the, oh man, this stinks. A sixth run, fifth inning for the Houston Astros, and the Yankees are getting pummeled. It is a 7-0 ballgame going into the bottom of the ninth, and the Yankees, oh. Oh, they score four in the bottom of the ninth, but it's too little too late. They get swept. We did worse in the second simulation. Well, nonetheless, I enjoyed that, guys. One-year rebuild of the New York Yankees for 2024. Really, they just need to be healthy and add some lefty thump in that lineup is my biggest thing. Get some more progress from those younger guys. See Anthony Volpe take some strides next season. Jason Dominguez hopefully gets healthy and comes back for the second half next year. Maybe Luis Severino can take another step next season. But really, having Rodon all year, the lineup staying together, getting 120 or 130 games out of Giancarlo Stanton, which sounds crazy, but you're paying him so much money. Team's got talent. They can go on a run. They can get high at the right time. They just need the puzzle pieces to all land. What do you guys think? Let me know in the comment section down below. I'll see you guys in the next one. I'm out. Love you. Peace.