"Worst OPS of any team" - Yankees insider critical of Anthony Rizzo, Oswaldo Cabrera, DJ LeMahieu’s underwhelming 2024 season efforts

Despite all their success, first base was a glaring weakness for the New York Yankees in 2024. Traditionally a role from which teams reap a great proportion of offense, Bronx Bombers first basemen just did not get it done this year.

On Friday, NJ.com writer Max Goodman took to X. According to Goodman, the Yankees' .619 OPS in 2024 was the worst in the league. This is despite the fact that New York hit an MLB-best 237 home runs in 2024.

"#Yankees first basemen had the worst OPS of any team in MLB this season (.619) by a wide margin. Their 76 wRC+ ranked 29th. Their .216 batting average ranked 27th. They hit 16 HR ... zero from 8/1 through the end of the World Series." - Max Goodman

Goodman went on to highlight the damning fact that no New York first baseman had hit a home run since August 1. The Yankees' .619 OPS at first base ranked behind the 29th-placed Cincinnati Reds, who finished with seventeen fewer wins in 2024.

With 92 appearances at first base this season, Anthony Rizzo saw more action than any other Yankee at the position. Even though injury issues caused Rizzo to miss 70 games in 2024, his .637 OPS was the lowest since his rookie season in 2011. Many associate the poor performance with a head injury suffered after a collision with Fernando Tatis Jr. of the San Diego Padres in 2023 that shook Rizzo.

In the postseason, Rizzo went 8-for-30 without a homer or an RBI. This, in part, contributed to the Yankees declining his $17 million club option for 2025. Although the incident with Tatis occurred eighteen months ago, many believe that the residual effects are still being felt.

Apart from Rizzo, DJ LeMahieu and Oswaldo Cabrera appeared in 38 and 13 games at first base respectively. Injuries limited LeMahieu to just 67 games, wherein he hit a mere .204. Cabrera, meanwhile hit for a mere .661 OPS in 108 contests.

Yankees eye some big shake-ups at first base

Ahead of Game 4 of the World Series, a realistic Anthony Rizzo entertained the possibility of his time with the Bronx Bombers coming to an end, telling SI:

"This could very well be my last game here. I’m a realist, I’m not naive to it. But all of that will shake out when the time is right."

A three-time All-Star who helped the Chicago Cubs win their historic 2016 World Series, Rizzo is coming to terms with the player that he is. Now, finding a slugging first baseman is a top priority in New York.