Today on Pinstripe Alley – 2/4/24

It’s a sad day on the baseball calendar when the stinky White Sox making multiple trades stands out as the biggest news. I suppose you could throw the possible Phil Maton/Rays match up there too, but that doesn’t seem definite yet. Anyway, hurry back soon, real baseball. It’s on the way! But we miss it.

Today on the site, Matt will present a different kind of Top Yankees list, namely one that focuses on some Hall of Fame names who didn’t make the cut for one reason or another. He’ll also be on the more standard Top-100 beat with one of the greatest players who ever lived coming in at third on the countdown as we near the end of our series. Estevão will continue our AL East rundown with a look at main takeaways from the Rays projections, and John will do the weekly social media spotlight.

MORE FROM PINSTRIPE ALLEY

Maybe it was the unusual postseason that did not feature the Yankees at all. Maybe it’s the sheer excitement of Juan Soto being a Yankee. Maybe it’s just the pure, baseball-loving genes that reemerge near the outset of every spring training, no matter how irritating the previous year ended. But boy, am I ready for Yankees baseball.

So with that, we are starting our 2024 season preview series even earlier than normal. We’re just ready to write about the guys who will almost definitely be on the Opening Day roster, or at least names to follow in the minors! There are always some surprises in spring training and unexpected injuries, so the people we run through will be subject to change, but we will endeavor to hit the most important players in Yankees camp.

So follow along with us! This post will live in the top area of our front page throughout spring training and April, serving as the tracker for all of our season previews. The links will be updated daily as new players are profiled. You can see our tentative schedule below.

The Orioles bolstered their case as AL East favorites with the surprise acquisition of Milwaukee Brewers ace Corbin Burnes this week. In 2023, the Orioles’ methodical rebuild officially came to a successful close — they won 101 games to edge out the Rays for the division crown before their pitching faltered in the playoffs.

With the most loaded farm system in baseball, it seemed as though Baltimore would run it back with what they had and let the talent infusion continue. Instead, they went out and got a Cy Young winner, signaling clearly to the league that this is their time and that their championship window is open. Burnes’ resume is outstanding, and includes the 2021 NL Cy for Milwaukee. He’s made three consecutive All-Star games and led the league with 243 strikeouts in 2022.

Burnes will headline the rotation as the anchor. He’s followed by John Means, Kyle Bradish, and Dean Kremer, who have varying degrees of big-league success under their belts. Means is coming off Tommy John surgery but was effective in the past, while Bradish had a breakout 2023 campaign. The fifth spot falls on talented second-year player Grayson Rodriguez, who could be the X-factor. I’d like to focus here on the unknowns, particularly on the bookends of that rotation, neither of which the Yankees have seen much of.