The New York Yankees clearly need to make significant changes if they hope to get back into contention in 2024. The Yankees' 2023 season has been nothing short of a disaster. Expected to compete for the 2023 World Series and potentially win a championship, the Yankees are going to miss the playoffs for the first time in seven years. New York might have its first losing record in three decades.

What's gone wrong for the 2023 Yankees? There is plenty of blame to go around. Injuries and veterans failing to play up to their usual standard have been a big part of New York's downfall. Ultimately, Brian Cashman put together a poorly constructed roster that needs to be reshaped in the offseason. Aaron Boone didn't help matters, continuing to make head-scratching decisions that have cost the team.

Fortunately for the Yankees, it shouldn't take long for New York to get back into contention. The Yankees' deep pockets allow the organization to spend big in free agency and bypass a full rebuild. They can pursue impactful players in free agency. New York has valuable prospects that can be used to upgrade the roster through trades.

The Yankees still have top-tier talent. Gerrit Cole might be on his way to winning the 2023 AL Cy Young award. Aaron Judge is only a year removed from setting the single-season American League Home Run record. Judge is arguably MLB's most dangerous hitter when healthy. Up-and-coming players like Anthony Volpe and Jasson Dominguez have a chance to give the Yankees several home-grown stars in the lineup at the same time. This is still the same organization that reached the ALCS three times over the last six years.

Here's a look at three changes the Yankees have to make during the 2023-24 MLB offseason.

3. Yankees must add proven, durable starting pitchers

The 2023 Yankees' rotation was decimated by injuries. New York wasn't simply the victim of poor injury luck. The front office compiled a pitching staff loaded with starters who have a history of getting hurt. It shouldn't have come as much of a surprise when Luis Severino, Carlos Rodon and Frankie Montas were all lost for significant periods of time. Outside of Cole, the Yankees' rotation has combined for an atrocious 5.08 ERA through 145 games.

The Yankees reportedly have their eyes on Japanese star pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto. New York would be smart to pursue a starting pitcher that it should've never let get away in the first place. Last year's Jordan Montgomery-for-Harrison Bader swap was confusing at the moment. It seemed even worse when the Yankees outright released Bader 13 months later. Not only has Montomgery proven that he can pitch in the Big Apple, but he's about to go over 30 starts for a third straight season. Montomgery has a 3.80 ERA for his career.

2. Yankees must add quality left-handed hitters

It's somewhat mind-boggling how a team that plays 81 games with a 314-foot short porch in right field could go so many consecutive seasons lacking in quality left-handed bats. Cashman and the Yankees have somehow managed to do it. It started with New York's refusal to pursue Bryce Harper in free agency, and not much has changed since that misguided decision. Anthony Rizzo was the only everyday left-handed hitter in the 2023 lineup, and he played fewer than 100 games because of a concussion.

Cody Bellinger is left-handed and the top position player who is headed for free agency. The Yankees were linked to Bellinger ahead of the trade deadline before the Chicago Cubs decided to keep the outfielder. With Bader gone and Dominguez likely unable to play the outfield next season because of Tommy John surgery, Bellinger would make for the perfect Yankee.

1. Yankees must add players who hit for average and aren't reliant on home runs to produce 

The Yankees' inability to produce runs has ultimately been their downfall in 2023. Cole and the bullpen have done what they could to make up for the majority of the rotation, giving New York the sixth-best ERA in the AL. The Yankees rank 1oth out of 15 AL teams in runs scored.

It hasn't been a lack of home runs that's ailed the Bronx Bombers. The Yankees are fourth in the AL in home runs and only six dingers behind the league. Far too often, no one is on base when one of the Yankees' hitters sends a pitch out of the ballpark. New York's .225 batting average is the worst in all of baseball. Even the Oakland Athletics are percentage points ahead of the Yankees. This isn't a new problem. It's one that's plagued the team in the playoffs and prevented them from returning to the World Series.

The Yankees must find players who can hit for average. It doesn't have to cost the team an arm and a leg in free agency, but it has to be at the top of New York's wish list ahead of the 2024 season.