Soto’s Hot Start

The Yankees have started off 2024 red hot, mainly due to their big Winter acquisition, Juan Soto. The Yankees have started 15-8 through 23 games so far this season. In those 23 games, Soto has posted a .322 average with 5 home runs, and kept his keen eye on display with 14 strikeouts and 19 walks. With their three hundred million dollar man currently batting .174 with 31 strikeouts, Soto has been keeping the Yankees at the top of the AL East.

Photo by Charles Wenzelberg

Acquiring Soto was a big trade for the Yankees, which came at a steep cost. For Soto and Trent Grisham, the Yankees traded away 5 players total, including Michael King who was a solid bullpen piece for the Yankees last year. However, you make that trade for a player of Soto’s caliber ten out of ten times. The question now is why were the Yankees and Soto not able to come to terms on a new contract. Soto, who is still just 25 years old and in the last year of his contract, is only making himself more money as this season plays out.

Will the Yankees Re-Sign Soto?

We have seen the Yankees spend big money before on big time free agents. Some include signing Aaron Judge last year to a $360 million dollar contract. The difference there is that Judge is a homegrown player and adored by all fans. Yankees management knew that letting him go would leave a sour taste in the mouth of their fan base. Now, they are facing a similar situation with Soto. It is not often that a team is able to trade for a superstar in the middle of their prime. After his hot start, Soto is starting to be universally liked by Yankees fans. Soto will likely come at a cost similar to Aaron Judge, and the question for Yankee management would be if they can afford to have both of those superstars share the same outfield.

Photo by Frank Franklin II

The entire Juan Soto situation resembles that of A-Rod in many ways. First, they trade for a superstar player who is owed or will be owed a lot of money. Their current superstar, now being Judge then being Derek Jeter, plays their same position. Luckily for Jeter, Rodriguez was alright playing third base and letting the captain stay at shortstop where he had cemented his place in Yankee history. Judge, a player already prone to injuries, has switched to play primarily center field over right field. There is more area to cover and more room to be injured for Judge. This has not affected them yet as both are excellent fielders, however it is cause for concern for someone who has an injury history especially in his legs.

Photo by Bryan Hoch

The Yankees will have some tough decisions to make during this off-season, and somehow get even tougher and more expensive if they keep on winning. If Judge fails to bounce back, it will be worth it to look into trading him as someone on the wrong side of 30 and making $40 million dollars a year. Soto is going to command a contract worth upwards of 10 years and $300 million dollars. If he keeps up how he is playing, he could very well play himself into an MVP award and a closer contract to that of Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani, rather than his partner in the outfield. The Yankees will need to decide if it is worth giving out another mega-contract to a star when they are already paying multiple players over $25 million a year.