Yankees’ deal for Juan Soto is an old-school Boss move

Yankees’ deal for Juan Soto is an old-school Boss move | Klapisch

Updated: Dec. 06, 2023, 4:33 p.m.|Published: Dec. 06, 2023, 4:20 p.m.
Juan Soto
Juan Soto will give the Yankees left-handed home run power, which they've been seeking for years.AP
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By Bob Klapisch | For NJ Advance Media
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — It’s been a slow, insidious slide for the Yankees over the last few years, and for a million different reasons. Among those roster’s glaring deficiencies was left-handed home run power. To say the lineup lacked oomph was being polite — the Yankees were awful as they finished last in the AL East in offense in 2023.

But all that changes now that Juan Soto is coming to the Bronx. A deal with the Padres is on the verge of being announced on Wednesday afternoon in a move that harkened back to the days when George Steinbrenner always got his man.


The swap with the Padres isn’t going to be cheap. The Yankees, who were clinging to right-hander Michael King in earlier talks, relented late Tuesday night. They’d preferred to deal Clarke Schmidt, but finally softened on King. The Padres have been asking for at least six other players.

Subtracting King will put a bullseye on Carlos Rodon and to a lesser degree Nestor Cortes in 2024. That is, unless free agent Yoshinobu Yamamoto signs with the Yankees.

But that’s a discussion for later. As of today, the Yankees will be taking a big step towards playoff contention. Soto, paired with Aaron Judge, will give Aaron Boone the kind of big-inning threat that Giancarlo Stanton has mostly failed to provide.

Soto hit 35 home runs in 568 at-bats last year. He could add considerably more with the Stadium’s short right-field porch staring him in the face. A Silver Slugger winner every year since 2020, Soto was the Home Run Derby champion in 2022. Power is his calling card.


The bigger question, of course, is whether Hal Steinbrenner and GM Brian Cashman can sign Soto to a long-term deal. The slugger turned down a $440 million extension from the Nationals in 2022. It’s believed Soto will seek in excess of $500 million this time around.

Scott Boras clients generally avoid extensions though; the super-agent prefers to test the market, which the Yankees have known.

One source said earlier in the week that Soto would be a one-year rental. There was no expectation by the Yankees’ hierarchy of a multi-year pact until after the ‘24 season..

But snagging Soto, even for one summer, demonstrates how determined Steinbrenner was to reverse the franchise’s downward spiral. The Yankees failed to make the playoffs in 2023 for the first time since 2016, and nearly finished under .500 for the first time since 1992.

Cashman himself called the performance a “disaster” that required a massive facelift. Soto was the first and most obvious target. And so is Yamamoto, a latter-day Greg Maddux according to scouts, who the Yankees have been aggressively pursuing.

Could Steinbrenner possibly afford both Soto and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, inflating the payroll well north of $300 million? The young Boss has been loath to spend as impulsively as his father. Even after locking up Judge last winter and signing Rodon, free agency’s best pitcher, it seemed like a dual Soto-Yamamoto upgrade was a bridge too far.


But the Yankees are moving in that direction. Soto, only 25, figures to be more durable than either Judge or Stanton. The Yankees will have to live with his below-average defense in left field and his non-descript baserunning skills. Soto won’t be the best athlete on the roster.

But, as they say, the man can certainly rake.


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Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 12/06/2023 04:52PM by Giambino.