The new year is finally upon us! 2023 turned out to be a wild year and the MLB season didn’t quite pan out how anyone expected. The offseason is still in full swing with plenty of free agents to sign and trades to make and pitchers and catchers report for spring training in over a month. Still, with a new year comes the desire to change and make some resolutions and MLB teams are no different. So, today we’ll help them out a bit and make a quick resolution for each team heading into 2024.

Arizona Diamondbacks: Win the NL West Division

The Diamondbacks surprised the baseball world with a stellar run through the playoffs that saw them lose in the World Series to the Rangers. They spent 66 days in first place in the division last season before being overtaken on July 13. The Diamondbacks are more stable in their roster to undertake the task of defeating the powerhouse Dodgers and the team has their sights on the advantage and bragging rights of winning the division and taking down a team that has handed out over $1 billion worth of contracts to players.

Atlanta Braves: Build A Bench

The Braves have been wheelin’ and dealin’ this offseason with their most recent trade bringing in Chris Sale from Boston. In return, the Braves sent Vaugn Grissom, further depleting their bench depth for the season. According to Roster Resource, the only guaranteed bench piece is Travis d’Arnaud, but the bench is lacking after that. David Fletcher was acquired via trade but immediately outrighted off the 40-man roster to Triple-A. Following him there is Forrest Wall who can slot in the outfield and Leury Garcia has a non-roster invite to spring training. The main lineup is secure, but the Braves need to do more to flesh out their depth at the big league level.

Baltimore Orioles: Let Jackson Holliday Cook

The Orioles had a phenomenal 2023 season led mainly by a stellar young core of players. They are suited for another quality season and have the most anticipated prospect in Jackson Holliday. The 2022 number-one overall pick climbed all four minor league levels in the Orioles system, finishing the year in Triple-A and playing in the Triple-A championship with the Norfolk Tides. He recently turned 20 years old, and even though the Orioles could easily let him spend a full year in Triple-A, they can give him every chance in spring training to take the starting job at shortstop. He’s built to have an exciting rookie season and MLB career and maybe be another spark the Orioles can use.

Boston Red Sox: Get the Trevor Story Signing to Pay Off

Since joining the Red Sox on a six-year deal before the 2022 season, Trevor Story has not been able to live up to the success he sustained in Colorado. In two seasons he has played just 137 games and batted .227/.287/.398 and had surgery on the throwing elbow that hindered him in his final year in Colorado. When healthy, Story has proven to be a premium slugger at the cost of a high strikeout rate and lower batting average. A normal, healthy offseason may help  Story make adjustments and prove he is worth the $22.5 million the Red Sox are paying him. He is likely to slide back to shortstop after playing second base the last two years which could help his overall confidence. The Red Sox may look to try and find someone to take on his contract in a trade, but that seems unlikely and will instead have to hope he can turn in a productive season.

Chicago White Sox: Pick a Lane

The White Sox were primed to be a competitive product for years to come not that long ago. But since then we have seen the team fall into mediocrity with the facade of wanting to compete. The team needs either a full rebuild or for them to go all in on building a win-now product. Instead, their offseason has been filled with moves that indicated a team just treading water. The team needs to pick a lane and stick with that plan as they move forward into 2024.

Cincinnati Reds: Help 2023 Rookies Excel in Second Season

The Reds were a surprising team in 2023 thanks to a slew of rookies taking the field. Many of those rookies enjoyed stellar seasons and provided plenty of potential and excitement for the Reds entering 2024 but there is also concern. The Reds will need to help the rookies entering their sophomore season avoid the slump that always seems to occur in the second season of a player’s career. With a team heavily reliant on a young core, if they can avoid all the slumps happening at once, they’ll be in good shape in 2024.

Cleveland Guardians: Find More Power

The Guardians are known for their pitching as well as high contact emphasis, but their power has been sorely lacking for several years. José Ramírez and Josh Naylor are capable of plenty of pop, as is Andrés Giménez, but it still wasn’t enough to keep the team from having the least amount of home runs in the American League last season. If the team is ever going to get anywhere, they need to get more power into their lineup to help drive in runs and provide more support for an already great pitching staff.

Colorado Rockies: Solve the Starting Pitching Crisis

The Rockies’ struggles with starting pitching have been well documented over their 30+ year history. After an abysmal pitching year in 2023, the rotation looks questionable heading into 2024. Two of their notable rotation members are sidelined until the second half due to Tommy John surgery, and they only have Kyle Freeland and Austin Gomber slated in for 2024. The team acquired Cal Quantrill in a trade with the holds to bring some veteran stability but that leaves a question mark on the final two parts of the rotation. Does the team just stand pat with their in-house and cheap veteran options? Or will they try to take steps to figure out pitching at altitude by acquiring and/or developing better talent?

Detroit Tigers: Establish a New Face of the Franchise

For the first time in a long time, the Tigers will take the field on Opening Day without future Hall of Famer Miguel Cabrera. The Tigers are now in a new era for their franchise as they look to establish a new identity and path moving forward. The player to do that could be Spencer Torkleson after a strong finish to the season. Torkleson hit 16 of his 31 home runs in August and September after a rough first half. There is still room for growth for the young slugging infielder, but Torkleson has the chance to become the leader for the Tigers with a full season of play like he did at the end of the 2023 season.

Houston Astros: Bolster the Starting Rotation

The Astros are a team that doesn’t seem to have many problems in the past few seasons. Since 2015 they began to become a powerhouse organization (cheating scandal aside) that is a model for any team that wants to win. However, 2023 showed a few cracks in the starting pitching department. They relied on younger arms and while those arms weren’t awful, they will need at least one or two of them to take leaps forward in 2024. Justin Verlander and Framber Valdez will lead the rotation, but there is a dropoff in effectiveness after that.

Kansas City Royals: Let the Free Agent Gambles Pay Off 

The Royals have been a surprise team this offseason in the spending department. While they haven’t made any world-shattering moves, they have made sensible free-agent moves that could pay huge dividends if they pan out. The key factor will be if the starting pitcher acquisitions can be effective and give growing offense opportunities to score runs and play in closer games. The AL Central is up for grabs and the Royals have a chance to seize the title and head back to the postseason and much of that depends on their free agents performing.

Los Angeles Angels: Move On From Ohtani

Much of the 2024 season is going to focus on the fact that Shohei Ohtani is no longer with the Angels. That narrative and reminder is going to follow them for the next 10+ years since he just moved to the Dodgers. It’s going to be easy for the Angels to get bogged down with the reminders of Ohtani but that is something they are going to have to push through in 2024. The best way to move on from Ohtani and their own organizational failures is to focus on getting Mike Trout back to the playoffs. Winning will help the team move and turn the page for the post-Ohtani world they now live in.

Los Angeles Dodgers: Win the World Series

When you spend over $1 billion on record-breaking contracts for two international stars as well as acquiring an ace from the Tampa Bay Rays, and already have two former MVPs on your team, it’s World Series or bust for the Dodgers. Should the team fail to win the World Series or even get dispatched early in the playoffs, the 2024 season is going to be a huge disappointment. Expectations are high for the Dodgers and only time will tell if they are built to finally win what they would view as a legitimate World Series.

Miami Marlins: Don’t Be Like The Rays 

The Marlins were on an intriguing trajectory under general manager Kim Ng, but since she resigned from the team at the end of the season it’s hard to tell what the Marlins will do now. The team hired Peter Bendix, the former general manager of the Rays, to be their president of baseball operations. Will Bendix stretch his legs a bit and have the freedom to spend some money while helping build up the Marlins? Or will he bring some of the Tampa Bay tendencies and begin working on a minuscule budget that regularly trades its young stars before they get too expensive? It’s going to be interesting because there is potential for the Marlins, but often a new leader brings about new change.

Milwaukee Brewers: Figure Out What to Do With Corbin Burnes

The Brewers are in a state of potentially needing to trade more players as payrolls shrink and players get ready to depart in free agency. Corbin Burnes has been a phenomenal pitcher in his time with the Brewers and his name remains a trade candidate for the 2024 season. Sooner or later the team is going to have to decide whether to try and make a run in 2024 or trade him away for prospects to refresh their system.

Minnesota Twins: Keep Byron Buxton Healthy

When he is healthy, Byron Buxton is one of the best hitters around. He features a unique blend of stellar defensive capabilities in the outfield and an explosive approach at the plate, the only problem is that he hasn’t been quite healthy enough to take full advantage of either aspect. The Twins expect to have him in center field in 2024, but don’t have much of a contingency plan should he go down with an injury again. If they can keep Buxton healthy, the Twins will be in much better shape next season.

New York Yankees: Stop Throwing Players Under the Bus

The Yankees have had plenty of problems. They have continually disappointed in the postseason and 2023 was one of their worst seasons in recent memory. Their offense was abysmal and they just couldn’t keep up with the other teams in the division. One theme over the offseason was the fact that the Yankees brass kept throwing random players under the bus as well as attacking the use of analytics. If the Yankees are ever going to be what they want to be, they can’t keep undermining and taking potshots at their players when they struggle. They have some stellar players on their roster, but the front office has to point the finger that themselves more often.

New York Mets: Allow David Stearns to Implement his Vision

The Mets have spent a lot of money under owner Steve Cohen and have little to show for it. 2023 was a trainwreck of a season for the Mets and saw them enter selling mode at the Trade Deadline. While the team won’t be shy about spending money, new president of baseball operations David Stearns has the chance to implement a new vision to help the team balance itself out between having quality developed talent along with pricey acquisitions.

Oakland Athletics: Treat Oakland Fans with Respect

It’s no mystery that fans of the Oakland A’s are not happy with the owner John Fisher’s decision to move the team to Las Vegas. 2024 effectively acts as a lame-duck season for the A’s at their current ballpark before they become a wandering show prior to their full move to Las Vegas. Fans are going to let their disdain show for Fisher at games, rightfully so, and the best thing the A’s can do, is give these fans the respect they deserve and treat them to some final memories.

Philadelphia Phillies: Help Aaron Nola Return to Form

The Phillies made one of the first big splashes of the offseason when they re-signed Aaron Nola to a seven-year $172 million contract. Nola wasn’t as sharp in 2023, but he’s a proven workhorse with the capability to be a lockdown starter and ace. Along with Zack Wheeler, the Phillies have a quality 1-2 punch in the rotation but the team needs the 30-year-old Nola to stay healthy and remain productive over the course of the contract. A return to form in 2024 would put them on the right track.

Pittsburgh Pirates: Keep Relying on Pitching 

The Pirates the past few years have focused on bringing in some random veterans either to start on the mound or fill out of the lineup. This offseason, however, has seen the team make a few more offensive acquisitions while signing Martin Perez to a one-year deal and acquiring Marco Gonzales in a trade with Braves. The rotation will be led by Mitch Keller after a breakout year on the mound and the team will need to keep relying on their pitching as they try to develop the bats of their offense.

San Diego Padres: Win with What You’ve Got

Over the last few seasons the Padres got caught up in the spending arms race with the Dodgers and the Mets. Of the three, only the Dodgers have benefited truly from the money they have spent overall. The Padres have plenty of talent on the roster still after losing a good amount of players via trade and free agency. Rather than exhaust a lot of resources, the Padres should be content with what they have now, or at least don’t spend an arm and leg on a few players. They are cutting payroll across the board, so settling with the high-caliber talent they already have could help them be good in 2024.

San Francisco Giants: Get Logan Webb Some Support 

Logan Webb was one of the best starters in the game last season and that was about all there was to talk about with the Giants starting rotation and team in general. Webb enjoyed some of the worst run support in the game last season and was just one of two starters to have over 150 innings pitched. The Giants rotation is going to need to pick up some slack in 2024 and help relieve pressure from Webb as the only truly reliable arm. Additionally the the offense needs to score more runs with the hope that Jung-Hoo Lee pans out and lives up to the hype.

St. Louis Cardinals: Hope the Innings Get Eaten

The Cardinals went the surprising route by signing a trio of older starters with reputations as innings eaters. Lance Lynn, Kyle Gibson, and Sonny Gray will be tasked with taking care of plenty of innings while also being effective on the mound. The team is counting the veterans to stay healthy and get the team back on track in 2024 but it seems like a huge risk with plenty of questions.

Tampa Bay Rays: Find Success in the Postseason

The Rays are a team that dominates in the regular season and yet with all of that success have yet to carry it to the postseason. The team made the World Series in 2020 but has won just a single postseason game in the last three seasons, including being swept in the Wild Card round the last two years. The Rays are going to find a way to win in the regular season, but they need to prove they can hold up in the bright lights of the playoffs.

Texas Rangers: Build their Bullpen

The Rangers proved they had quite a bit of talent in 2023 en route to their first World Series title. The rotation is going to be a little shaky entering the season as they wait for Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer to heal from injuries but will be good enough, and the offense is still top-notch. Their bullpen is still a question mark as it was last season and in the playoffs. If the team is going to repeat its success, it will have to make some important acquisitions for the arm barn.

Toronto Blue Jays: Add a Notable Name

The Blue Jays have been quite disappointed this offseason. They were heavily involved in the race for Ohtani but came up short and have tried to stay in touch with other notable names. Unfortunately, they haven’t been able to get anything done yet aside from some more minor moves to round out the roster. The Blue Jays can still find a way to acquire a notable name, maybe even a star, and help build up a roster with plenty of potential.

Washington Nationals: Solve the Strasburg Situation 

Behind the scenes, plenty of drama was brought about between Stephen Strasburg and the Nationals after a retirement celebration was planned for 2024 but then taken off the schedule as the team tries to figure out a way to not pay him the money owed. It’s a messy situation for sure, and that needs to be a focus in 2024. The team is already drawing ire from fans for how they have operated following the 2019 season and they should hope to solve the Strasburg situation with grace and charity.