Dream Yankees starting lineup for the 2024 season

Batting fourth, Anthony Rizzo - 1B

It's a dream, right? So, in this dream, Rizzo is fully recovered from the concussion that rocked his 2023 season, learned some life lessons during his offseason work as a DJ, and returns looking more like the lefty masher who hit .327 with a .917 OPS in May before his vision blurred and reactions slurred.

Even if Rizzo is no longer elite, he's still a rock solid first baseman and left-handed bat who provides rare variance for the currently busted Yankees offense. He might just be keeping the seat warm for Munetaka Murakami's free agency, but you could certainly do worse in a caretaker role.

Batting fifth, Giancarlo Stanton - DH

Even in the dream lineup, we can't hit Giancarlo Stanton fourth, nor can we expect him to be magically healed. Brian Cashman said it himself -- extremely rudely. Injuries are baked into Stanton's game, and when they inevitably occur, Soto can shift to DH, Judge to right, and Kiermaier to center during Jasson Dominguez's rehab.

Sounds like Cashman himself is dreaming of a scenario where Stanton's shipped out, huh? Well, keep dozing, bud.

Stanton probably will not perform very well in 2024, but the hope is that he runs into five or 10 or 15 before his time is up. Theoretically, it would be nice to dream bigger here, but it would take so many wild leaps to remove Stanton from the Opening Day lineup. The only plausible reason he wouldn't be here is, of course, a soft-tissue injury, something we'd never wish upon him in a dream. While you're here, you're mashing, G.