As we bid farewell to the year 2023, its a time for Baseball fans to flip the calendar and envision the start of the 2024 MLB season. Some people say goodbye to the old year by burning dolls, putting money in their shoes, wearing a gold thong (Jason Giambi reference), or making new years resolutions. While we won’t do the more extreme, we can certainly talk about some of the changes or hopes that the AL East and Central teams can hopefully look forward to. We’ll look to post the NL East and Central at some point tomorrow, and both west divisions the following day.

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AL East

New York Yankees: Get another starter and fill in the depth

One of the focuses for the Yankees this offseason was the back end of the rotation. YamaSoto was the original hope, but it seems like that was never a realistic option in hindsight. However, options still loom. Jordan Montgomery is still available, but he may come at a high price point after his world series run with the Rangers. Blake Snell is a similar situation after having another CY Young season with the Padres, who are going to let him walk. But outside of that, its a challenge.

If the Yankees cannot get one of the two, or trade for Dylan Cease or Corbin Burnes (both trade availability unknown), they’d then pivot to the farm. After trading away 2023 starters Michael King, Jhony Brito, Randy Vazquez, and top pitching prospect Drew Thorpe, they are left with the selection of Clayton Beeter, Luis Gil, and Will Warren to be their #5 starters and/or depth pieces. It would be beneficial to lock down one more starter.

Boston Red Sox: Finding Direction in a Stacked AL East

The Boston Red Sox find themselves at a crossroads as they navigate the upcoming 2024 MLB season. A series of significant trades, including parting ways with Chris Sale and Alex Verdugo, have left them in a transitional phase. Despite this, the decision to award starting pitcher Lucas Giolito a two-year, $38.5M contract indicates a commitment to maintaining competitiveness.

As the Red Sox assess their position in the fiercely competitive AL East, they face the question of whether to pursue a full-throttle contention strategy or opt for a strategic step back to re-tool and rebuild. It seems like they will be a middle of the pack type of organization, similar to last year. However, finding some definite direction could prove wise.

Toronto Blue Jays: Setting Sights on Postseason Triumph

The Toronto Blue Jays are resolutely focused on conquering the postseason and securing victory in the 2024 season. They haven’t won a series since their 2016 campaign, guided by Josh Donaldson, Jose Bautista, and Troy Tulowitzki. The team has since transitioned into a core consisting of Vladimir Guerrero, Bo Bichette, and Kevin Gausman as they look to capitalize on their championship window.

At all costs, win a round. They need to make a big move, on the scale of trading for Corbin Burnes, signing Blake Snell, or maybe even Cody Bellinger. If they can do that, get Alek Manoah and Jose Berrios to pitch consistently, and avoid injury’s, they can surely be a dominant postseason force this season, and triumph through their blunders of the previous few seasons.

Baltimore Orioles: Find A Stable Ownership Group

I was debating saying grab a all-world superstar, but why not talk about the reason they won’t go out and buy one.

The Angelos family only cares about their profit and their public perception. If you remember, they suspended their talented young broadcaster Kevin Brown for discussing a graphic that had some sort of negative connotation towards the team. That level of pettiness, paired with their unwillingness to spend outside of their tight budget, should be reason for Orioles fans to demand a new owner.

Tampa Bay Rays: Find A Viable Stop-Gap Shortstop

The Tampa Bay Rays face the challenge of replacing Wander Franco for the upcoming 2024 MLB season. Despite the departure of Franco, the Rays possess a promising prospect in 20-year-old Carson Williams, who excels as a power-hitting shortstop. Williams demonstrated his prowess with an impressive .857 OPS, .351 OBP, and 23 home runs in 105 games, including a brief stint in AA. While Taylor Walls is not be a suitable short-term option at shortstop, the Rays can look to secure a temporary solution as they anticipate Williams’ eventual debut.

AL Central

Chicago White Sox: Get a good return for Dylan Cease

I feel bad for the south side fans. There truly is nothing to look forward to. Newly appointed GM Chris Getz has a big mess to clean up from Rick Hahn’s disastrous last few years. Sox ace Dylan Cease was one talent that Hahn was able to see great development from. However, Cease is a free agent in 2 years, and he is making just $8.3M with another year of arbitration following. With Cease being represented by the Boras Corp, there’s essentially zero chance of him returning past 2025.

With a long term rebuild upcoming, it is the right move to just get as much young capital back as possible. They should be bottom feeders for at least the next 2-3 years, so they need to get younger. With Cease in his prime, and with 2 years of team control for cheap, they will be able to get a great return if they choose to let go of their star starter.

Detroit Tigers: Get Rid Of Javier Baez’ contract

This is a task that might be tougher then most. Javier Baez right now is on a terrible contract. He’s being paid $25M across the next 4 years and he’s been one of the worst in baseball. Slashing .230/.273/.361 with a OPS+ of 77 (MLB Average is 100) with only 26 home runs across 2 years as a Tiger. He’s also carries a lot of publicity (whether good or bad) which can weigh him down.

It would be a daunting task to boot him off the payroll. The Tigers would have to add prospects in a deal and maybe even take on another bad contract to offload him. Nevertheless, Baez is not a fit for this team, but he may be stuck there for the next few years.

Minnesota Twins: Win this division

The NL and AL central divisions rightfully own their place as the worst divisions in MLB. However, the Twins are definitely the most talented team in the AL Central. They showed it last year by taking down the Blue Jays in the wild card round after winning the AL Central. Considering that the other 4 teams will not be too competitive, its the Twins division to lose.

Cleveland Guardians: Be in the hunt

It’s hard to tell what the Guardians are. Are they winners, losers, contenders, hopefuls? I really don’t know, and im not sure if they know. However, in their current situation, a consistent performance and having a fun wild card rave down the stretch wouldn’t be too much of an ask? Right? Leave a comment below if you have any suggestions for the Guardians.

Kansas City Royals: Draw in some revenue (and some fans)

More on the business side of the game, the Royals are having similar amounts of failure. The team was almost at the bottom of the league in revenue, coming in 25th place at $260 million dollars. Although thats still $22M higher then the 29th place Marlins (Considering Oakland as outlier due to circumstances), they aren’t sitting in a good spot. Attendance records has KC at #28 at about 16,000 (Miami and Oakland trail).

In their current situation, its going to be very difficult to build revenue as a losing team, and in a stadium that they look to move out of. However, resolutions can be somewhat unrealistic, as long as it is obtainable.