Former MLB GM takes Yankees fans on rollercoaster ride with 2024 predictions

Jim Bowden of The Athletic has caught the ire of many fans who disagree with his assessments, insight, predictions, you name it. The former MLB general manager is often aggregated and there's widespread debate over what he has to say.

Look no further than this week after Bowden dropped his "24 predictions for the 2024 season," (subscription required) which featured the New York Yankees three (3) times! We won't count one of them, though, because it was Bowden harmlessly having fun and saying Aaron Boone will be the first manager ejected this year. OK, got us there.

But the other two? Serious, serious stuff. Bowden made sure to deliver the bad news first, which was the Yankees missing the playoffs despite notching a winning record in 2024. He has the Rangers, Mariners and Rays playing October baseball over the Bombers, who will be left out alongside the Blue Jays and Tigers. He has the O's, Twins and Astros winning the three divisions.

Briefly, we must ask why everyone is down on this roster that so very clearly improved year over year. Is there a logical explanation? Or does everyone want to be trendy and anti-Yankees?

In Bowden's eyes, however, just because the Yankees' 2024 season will end on a sour note, doesn't mean their year will.

Former MLB GM takes Yankees fans on rollercoaster ride with 2024 predictions

His next prediction is that Juan Soto will re-up with the Yanks on a 14-year, $501 million contract after they out-bid the Mets and Steve Cohen by $1 million (surrrreee that'll be enough to do the job, right?). Is that enough not to have fans lose their minds over a playoff-less season?

But are we perhaps missing the bigger picture here? Why would Soto dedicate the rest of his career to a team that just missed the playoffs with a stacked roster? Per another Bowden prediction, Soto will win the AL MVP! You're telling us he's going to win the MVP, watch the rest of the team around him flounder and fall short in a weakened AL, and then say, "Sure, let's do this over and over again!"?

The money isn't a factor here. Even some mid-market teams might consider throwing $500 million at Soto. He's a generational player and definitely has enough marketing pull to help recoup a good portion of that investment. Not to mention, his presence on even an average roster immediately elevates it to a playoff contender.

If Soto re-signs with New York, it will more than likely be because he had a pleasant experience and believes he can win multiple championships and take his Hall of Fame candidacy to new heights -- not because the Yankees can offer the same amount of money a lot of other clubs can.

Bowden's been wrong before, folks, so don't buy any stock into this just yet.