It is about time I write about the Yankees’ prodigal right fielder who gets me into arguments with my professor.
Juan Soto is a touchy subject in Washington, D.C. After he became a key player during their whirlwind 2019 World Series run, fans saw Soto as a lifetime National, destined to carry them to greatness again and again.
But in August 2022, just three years after their championship, the Nationals traded Soto to the San Diego Padres. After the 2023 season, with just one year left before he reached free agency, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman granted me all my hopes and dreams: he traded for Soto.
Yankees fans are greedy, I admit it. So when we acquired Soto, we were not yet satisfied. We demanded that Cashman extend his contract.
Stepping into Yankee Stadium, it becomes immediately apparent just how true this is. The constant “re-sign Soto” chants from the bleachers every game are pretty clear indications.
Strangely, however, I recently learned that not everyone agrees.
Last week, a professor stopped by my desk at work. We talked about baseball, as one does. He is a Nationals fan and I am — guess what — a Yankees fan, so we were obligated to discuss Soto. He took the position that the Yankees should let him go at the end of the season and rebuild; he claimed the Yankees do not have enough depth to maintain a strong lineup around Soto and should instead use the large sum required to extend Soto to acquire minor league talent. Essentially, he thinks the Yankees should tank.
Personally, I’m inclined to believe he just wants Soto back on the Nationals and his argument is fueled by wishful thinking. But more importantly, I also think he is wrong.
So, Professor Schlickenmaier, let me tell you why you’re wrong. To those of you who have taken “International Relations,” consider this my crit.
The Yankees’ championship window might seem indefinite. But when soon-to-be two-time American League Most Valuable Player (AL MVP) and Yankees’ captain Aaron Judge passes his prime, a Yankees World Series run will be unrealistic. Judge is 32 — he will not be able to sustain his current level of play for much longer. So the Yankees need to win, now. Certainly, the Yankees can attempt to execute a long-term rebuild — but Judge would be out of the picture.
That would be an unimaginably wasteful — and depressing — strategy for the Yankees to adopt.
To simply say Judge is the best player in baseball is an understatement. For those of you who have not followed Judge’s last few seasons — so for my salty Red Sox fan friends and roommate out there — let me give you some highlights. Judge nearly unanimously won the 2022 AL MVP award after hitting a record-breaking 62 home runs, batting a crisp .311 and boasting a ridiculous 1.111 OPS. In 2023, Judge hit 37 home runs and maintained a 1.019 OPS despite missing about 50 games due to injury (I will never forgive the Dodger Stadium wall). In 2024, Judge has 51 home runs, a 1.170 OPS and a 222 OPS+.
That is not a normal level of “good at baseball.” Excluding players whose extracurricular activities involved taking steroids, Judge is the best hitter since Babe Ruth. While the Yankees have always been blessed with superstar talent, wasting Judge’s prime by neglecting to sign a World Series-caliber team around him would be unforgivable.
Further, Judge benefits from Soto in the lineup. A one-two punch of Judge and Soto forces pitchers to throw hittable pitches to at least one of them. In a world in which the Yankees lineup included Judge and eight solid but not incredible players, there would be no need to risk pitching to Judge since no other player in the lineup would pose a major threat.
With Soto in the lineup, avoiding Judge becomes far more complicated. On the 2024 team, Judge almost always hits directly after Soto. Soto gets on base approximately 42% of the time, which is the second-highest rate in MLB. (Judge, to no one’s surprise, is first.)
Since Soto so frequently gets on base right before Judge hits, pitchers are often forced to swallow the risk and pitch to Judge.
And pitchers absolutely must pitch to Soto. If they walk Soto, they have to face Judge. Judge at the plate with runners on is a terrifying sight — so pitchers have no choice but to feed Soto something hittable. Soto is on pace to finish this season with the best stats of his career so far, and part of that can be attributed to batting in front of Judge.
For the skeptics out there, Soto has been intentionally walked one time this year. Judge immediately hit a three-run home run. After the game, Judge said he only swung at the pitch — which was out of the strike zone — out of spite. “I was mad about the intentional walk,” he told reporters.
And I am not denying that depth is important. But good depth players are interchangeable and fairly accessible; Judge and Soto are not. Replacing the two best players in baseball is an impossible task.
To balk at the cost of resigning Soto is to wave the white flag and give up on winning a World Series with a team led by Judge. No price tag justifies that. I refuse to tell my children I was lucky enough to watch Judge and Soto hit back-to-back but too unlucky to see them win a ring.
So I will close with this eloquent demand: Get it done, Cashman.