Overall, the 2024 Yankees had a strong offense, ranking second in Major League Baseball with a 117 wRC+—only behind the Los Angeles Dodgers—and leading the American League with 5.03 runs per game. While the lineup had its struggles, especially during the midseason slump (before Austin Wells’ breakout and the arrival of Jazz Chisholm Jr.), they remained one of the toughest offenses to face throughout the full 162-game season.

However, their major weakness was their inability to hit left-handed pitching. After years of struggling against hard-throwing righties, the 2024 Yankees excelled against right-handed pitchers with a 120 wRC+, but faltered against lefties.

Although their 107 wRC+ against left-handed pitchers seemed decent at first glance, it was mostly inflated by standout performances from Aaron Judge (236 wRC+), Juan Soto (174 wRC+), and Gleyber Torres (132 wRC+). Of the other nine Yankees with at least 50 plate appearances against southpaws, only Chisholm had a wRC+ above 95 (114). Opponents took advantage of this weakness, regularly using left-handed relievers to neutralize the Yankees’ offense.

In an effort to address this flaw, the Yankees added some options during the winter. Cody Bellinger, despite being a lefty, had a solid .298/.305/.441 slash line (106 wRC+) against lefties, though he struggled with drawing walks.

Veteran first baseman Paul Goldschmidt, though nearing the end of his career, still excelled against left-handers with a .295/.366/.473 slash line (134 wRC+). With expectations that Wells would continue his breakout and Stanton would bounce back from his down year against lefties, there was hope the Yankees could at least become competent against southpaws.

But by mid-March, the reality of the situation began to sink in. With Stanton sidelined due to elbow injuries, the Yankees lack a true right-handed power threat, outside of Judge and potentially Goldschmidt. Bellinger, Wells, and Chisholm are all left-handed hitters, while Anthony Volpe has yet to prove himself consistently at the plate.

 

Yankees’ Giancarlo Stanton

Oswaldo Cabrera has just three career homers from the right side. Jasson Domínguez posted a weak .510 OPS against lefties in the minors last season. Even the leading DH candidates, Ben Rice and Dominic Smith, are left-handed, along with backup catcher candidate J.C. Escarra.

Recognizing this glaring weakness, the Yankees are reportedly continuing to search for a right-handed bat, even as they reassigned outfielder Everson Pereira to the minors for rehab after Tommy John surgery.

With Stanton now expected to be out until Memorial Day at the earliest due to his elbow and chronic leg issues, the need for a right-handed bat becomes even more urgent. While the hope is that Stanton will return to form and give the Yankees the offensive boost they need, it’s clear that, at least for the first part of the season, they’ll need to make another move to address their lineup imbalance.