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The New York Yankees' 2024 season will be a pivotal one. That's because the team is coming off a deeply disappointing 2023 campaign in which they notched just 82 wins, which makes for the Yankees' worst regular-season winning percentage since 1992, and finished in fourth place in the American League East. 

This of course isn't lost on manager Aaron Boone, who going into his seventh season in the Yankee dugout may be skippering for his job. With spring training camps now open, Boone on Wednesday addressed the media and straightaway laid out the expectations for 2024, saying the Yankees are "hell-bent" on winning it all this year:

"We understand very well that last year was not anything anyone in this organization wants or demands or expects," Boone told reporters. "And I would say we have poured into that from ownership to the front office to the coaches and staff all the way to the players, that I do feel we have prepared properly. We are ready to roll. But again, we got to show you."

The Yankees haven't won the World Series or even a pennant since 2009, which qualifies as a lengthy drought by the standards of MLB's flagship franchise. Boone has guided them as far as the ALCS twice, but each time (2019 and 2022) they fell to the Astros. There's a great deal of pressure on Boone and GM Brian Cashman for the team to take the next step in 2024. 

To that end, Cashman this offseason most notably swng a blockbuster trade for Juan Soto, whose patience and power at the plate make him one of the most productive hitters in baseball. Still just 25 years of age, Soto figures to provide more of the same in 2024, which will be his walk year. Soto's willingness to work counts and take walks make him the perfect choice to bat in front of franchise slugger Aaron Judge, who will be banking on better health this coming season. 

Speaking of which, Boone on Wednesday declared, "I think we have a chance to be a great offense." 

That may seem to be a bit overly optimistic considering the Yankees in 2023 ranked a meager 11th in the AL in runs scored and 10th in OPS. However, the addition of Soto and his career OPS+ of 157 will greatly help matters. As well, Judge, who's slashed .294/.417/.657 since the start of the 2022 season, was limited to just 106 games last season because of a fluke foot injury caused by the wall in Dodger Stadium. That's not the kind of injury that tends to recur, and absent that injury, Judge would likely have notched his third straight season of at least 148 games played. 

Beyond those vital factors, the Yankee offense as a whole was victimized by bad luck in 2023. Indeed, when you compare the team's wOBA (what's this?) to its expected wOBA (what's this?), the Yankees' offense last season was the unluckiest in all of baseball by a significant margin. Given Soto's presence, Judge's health outlook, and the likelihood that the bad luck won't persist, Boone's expectations aren't unrealistic. 

Elsewhere, the Yankees added Marcus Stroman to a rotation badly in need of stabilization behind ace and reigning AL Cy Young winner Gerrit Cole. As well, Alex Verdugo's lefty stick has been added to the lineup, and the underrated Trent Grisham gives them a true fly-catcher for the outfield and with some offensive upside to boot. Cashman also may not be done, as the Yankees have been linked in trade talks to White Sox ace Dylan Cease. Free-agent hurlers Jordan Montgomery, a former Yankee, and Blake Snell, the reigning NL Cy Young winner, may also be somewhere on the organizational radar, even at this late hour. 

However the rest of the offseason plays out, it's a crucial year in Bronx, as Judge continues to move deeper into his thirties and Soto (and potentially Cole) has a path to free agency at season's end. No one knows this more than Boone, whose job likely hinges on taking the Yankees where they haven't been in almost 15 years.