The New York Yankees need to sign an elite slugger if they want to improve their offense. In the 2023 season, the Bronx Bombers had the second-worst batting average in the league. Anyhow, the most important change in the roster might happen with the signing of the San Diego Padres superstar Juan Soto. Nothing has reached any confirmation yet. But it is the biggest potential trade that can happen to the Yankees in recent times. There’s a lot of excitement around the Yankees Nation.
Will the Padres let Juan Soto go, finally? It has been a long-time rumor that the Padres plan to trade him sometime soon. But the question is if the Yankees are absolutely sure that they want to sign Soto. Anyhow, the Bronx Bombers have been in need of a lefty slugger, and who can be better than Juan Soto? Albeit, Cody Bellinger is another viable option for the NY side. The discussion about Soto coming to New York started after The Athletic reported that the Padres wanted to trade Soto for salary relief.
Why The Padres Won’t Let Soto Go?
Moreover, the Padres even took a $50 million loan to cover their player payroll and, more importantly, short-term cash flow issues. However, on Sunday, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reported that the Padres may want to hold Soto off until the MLB trade deadline. Moreover, Nightengale said AJ Preller, the Padres GM, is not going to punt on this season. Perhaps, the Padres GM still believes his team has as many talents as any other team in baseball. Moreover, he’ll wait till the first half to see if the Padres become the elite team with Juan Soto as he envisioned it to be.
In such a scenario, the Yankees will have to shift their eyes on Cody Bellinger of the Chicago Cubs. They can pursue him in the offseason and later jump into the opportunity to sign Soto in the midseason. Anyway, this year, Cody Bellinger had signed with the Cubs for a one-year deal. He played well, showing flashes of his prime. Slashing .307/.356/.525 is great, but Bellinger also hit 26 homers along with 97 RBI. He also stole 20 bases.
With Juan Soto Or Without, Yankees Are In Desperate Need Of A Lefty Slugger
Moreover, they are overly dependent on Aaron Judge, and it cost them this last season. Judge missed more than a month of game time due to a toe injury in the middle of the season. And the Yankees could not hold on to a winning streak. In the meantime, the NY side struggled heavily in the absence of their captain. Anyhow, when Judge returned, the damage was already too heavy to deal with.
Later, the Bronx Bombers missed out on the postseason for the first time since 2016. It was a wake-up call for the NY side to make some crucial changes in the organization. They are looking at all sorts of changes from the analytics department, coaching, and, of course, the roster. Prior to signing elite hitters, the Yankees plan to free up space in the roster. The fans and experts know that these changes were a long time coming.
