The Yankees Reach Into Their Old Bag Of Tricks And Trade For Superstar, Generational Hitter Juan Soto

Matt Thomas/San Diego Padres. Getty Images.

LETS FUCKING GO!!!

Bullying works my friends. An angry fanbase furious at ownership and an incompetent GM actually can result in something great. A 2008 offseason was necessary to dig the Yankees out of Cashman's mess. and it seems like the they are very much in the middle of that. Put some legit pressure on the front office and boom…

Juan Soto is a New York Yankee and my god does that feel awesome to type. 

Third time's a charm. Bryce Harper and Corey Seager came and went. Both lefties, both elite hitters, both stars who seemingly fit the mold perfectly as Yankees to pepper the short porch in right. They were passed on as the organization resorted to cheaper, inferior options. With how bad things got offensively last season a giant move needed to be made to turn the tides. Something had to change. You couldn't just run back the current core again and hoped it turned around with magic. 

If 2023's misery gave us any good it was that it became painfully obvious to everyone just how badly they needed to upgrade the lineup. Second fewest hits in the sport, sixth lowest runs per game. Postseason failures of the recent past had become a season-long nightmare. The fanbase practically revolted and rightfully so. Cashman's head was called for. Hal was ridiculed for not being his father. And then by the grace of George Steinbrenner's ghost a certain superstar Padres outfielder became available. Thankfully, they weren't sleeping this time. 

When you bring up Juan Soto we're talking about a generational hitter. 25 years old with historic numbers put up across the board, including a postseason performance that resulted in a ring. Since 1920, among players with 3500 PA through their age 25 season he has the 5th higher wRC+. That's the guy you're trading for. He's what's required to re-open the World Series window. It's a move so big that it shakes the sport. 

Give me all of this

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Now I'm not saying Juan Soto solves all of the Yankees problems. They have many holes and he's just one guy, a really talented guy at that, but alas just one human being. He just missed the playoffs while being in a Padres lineup that included Tatis, Machado, and Bogaerts. It's baseball, nothing is a guarantee to work. That being said, pairing Juan Soto and Aaron Judge together is a dream you only expect to come to life in MLB the Show. His addition makes fixing this mess a hell of a lot easier. It's a true vintage, old school Steinbrenner Yankees move that we've been begging for. Forget money, forget prospect hugging, just go get the star. Can you imagine how it's going to look with a real superstar actually protecting Aaron Judge in the lineup? Try and wipe the smile off of my smug face, you can't.

So let's talk the haul. The Yankees really never make this kind of move. They trade for big players, but they usually don't relinquish any time of legit package. The balked at the Reds demands for Luis Castillo when they wanted Anthony Volpe and then some. This is different. For Juan Soto it's going to need to hurt. Michael King has really turned into an elite pitcher of late and his late season debut as starter really turned heads. Drew Thorpe was the minor league pitcher of the year in 2023. Randy Vasquez and Brito did a fine job while the Yankees were shorthanded during the season. Despite all that, you make this trade for Juan Soto every single time. The Yankees have shown they can develop young arms, so lean on that strength and trade from it. 

To those who are dissuaded by the fact that he's a one year rental, to that I say this. Aaron Judge is 32 in April. Gerrit Cole is 33. They're in the primes, but that window of them playing at their highest level will close eventually. You owe it to those two to do everything you can to win right now. You cannot afford to waste that pair any longer. They were too patient during the SS binge that just passed. They didn't go after Harper. Stop hoping for guys like Anthony Volpe to save you, and instead be aggressive this way. Volpe and the young guys like Austin Wells should come along too and it'll make the lineup even scarier. I also imagine they'll do everything in their power to keep Soto if they're going to these lengths to trade for him. And also keep in mind that in this coming year you're gaining the inside track on re-signing him. It's a move that makes so much sense on pretty much every level. 

Great job getting this done. I'm so fucking happy. Now let's go get Yamamoto and make this a true rerun of 2008.

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P.S. Soto's defense is gonna be an issue, but the offense will obviously outweigh any of that. They're gonna hide him in RF which will force Judge to play a lot of center with Verdugo in left. When Dominguez returns there's a more complicated decision to be made, but we'll cross that bridge when it comes. Champagne problems. What an outfield.