With a disappointing 2023 season all but over, the Yankees offseason will have a few crucial questions they need to address if they hope to contend in 2024. From what to do with Giancarlo Stanton to Aaron Boone, the Yankees have plenty of faces that may or may not be around next year. With the Yankees offseason about to begin, let’s explore how the Yankees offense has looked under new hitting coach, Sean Casey.
Yankees Offseason: Sean Casey’s Impact
With the Yankees sluggish offense in a tailspin, the Bombers terminated the employment Dillon Lawson and brought in former big leaguer Sean Casey. At the time, the Yankees sat at 49 wins and 42 losses, while averaging just under 4.4 runs per game. In the 66 games since, the team has gone 31 wins and 35 losses while seeing their runs per game drop to 3.9.
With the Yankees offseason approaching, the team will need to decide if Casey has done enough to warrant the full time job. The following is a table showing the breakdown of the Yankees offense and the key bats during that time:
Hits Per Game
Strikeouts Per Game
Walks Per Game
Home Runs Per Game
Batting Average
On-Base Percentage
Slugging Percentage
Before Casey
7.6
8.0
3.1
1.4
.231
.301
4.10
With Casey
7.1
9.7
4.0
1.3
.219
.307
.383
Unfortunately, during Casey’s tenure as hitting coach, the Yankees offense has gone from bad to worse. However, it is probably a bit unfair to exclusively blame Casey for the continued struggles of the offense. As the team fell further and further out of contention, the Bombers called up a handful of minor league players, another big topic for this Yankees offseason. It’s unfair to blame the common struggles associated with young hitters on Casey.
Additionally, the Yankees offense was missing the bat of Anthony Rizzo for most of Casey’s time with the team, and was clearly impacted by a concussion in the 15 games he did play with Casey.
With that said, here is a look at some of the more traditional bats in the Yankees offense. Please note, hits, walks, strikeouts and home runs are based on 162 game averages.
Hits
Strikeouts
Walks
Home Runs
Batting Average
On-Base Percentage
Slugging Percentage
Judge Before
169
208
116
63
.291
.404
.674
Judge With
131
193
147
49
.240
.401
.536
Stanton With
119
162
51
36
.203
.276
.426
Stanton After
109
215
78
42
.181
.275
.419
Gleyber Before
151
95
67
23
.252
.325
.413
Gleyber With
187
111
71
30
.301
.373
.516
Volpe Before
117
98
53
23
.216
.287
.395
Volpe With
108
162
57
21
.194
.279
.369
DJLM Before
130
151
51
15
.220
.285
.357
DJLM With
162
145
95
23
.273
.377
.434
Oswaldo Before
81
85
26
9
.204
.259
.309
Oswaldo With
104
122
58
4
.235
.342
.306
Looking at Casey’s Trends
Since Casey took over as hitting coach, Gleyber Torres has become one of the more consistent hitters in baseball. Additionally, DJ LeMahieu took a noticeable step forward after the change in leadership. Meanwhile, Stanton’s batting average continued to plummet while hitting more home runs.
While Aaron Judge saw a decline in his second half performance, it is fair to wonder how much his toe injury impacted his play, while Anthony Volpe saw struggles consistent with young players in their first major league season, especially when they play in almost every game over the year.
With the Yankees offseason quickly approaching, Hal Steinbrenner will have a lot of decisions to make. With some rumors stating that Brian Cashman and Aaron Boone might be back, perhaps the next biggest question will be if Sean Casey remains as the hitting coach.
Let us know your thoughts on the Yankees offseason in the comments below!
