The Judge-Soto bromance is real at Yankees camp

Juan Soto’s introduction to life as a Yankee started with a phone call from Aaron Judge in December, with the new teammates expressing how much they were looking forward to playing alongside each other.

For Soto, the experience has exceeded all expectations so far, featuring lots of laughs alongside Judge and others in a lively batting practice group that may, on any given day, feature an intense home-run hitting contest, in-depth conversations about game strategy, or even a light-hearted bunting competition (honing a skill neither of them will probably ever be asked to use in a real game).

“He's been good. He's even better than what I expected,” Soto said of Judge. “I knew he was a great guy, but I didn't know he was that good. Everything [about] his vibe, everything's good. He's just thinking positive and he's trying to win as much as he can.”

Judge has seemingly been in Soto’s corner since at least the 2022 All-Star Game, when Judge sat in the Dodger Stadium outfield and called Soto “a leader” that would “help whatever team he goes to win a lot of ballgames.” Judge added: “It would be fun to see him in New York.”

At that time, there were rumors about Soto being traded if the Nationals could not secure an extension. Soto was indeed dealt weeks later, with the Padres snapping him up after the outfielder’s camp rejected a 15-year, $440 million offer from the Nats. There was never any traction with extension talks in San Diego, which is why Judge and Soto now find themselves sharing a clubhouse, at least for a year.


[www.mlb.com]