The New York Yankees needed some good news from the current offseason. There were a lot of options, like Juan Soto, and Cody Bellinger, among others. As agent Scott Boras puts it, Juan Soto is an offense in itself. Hence, the Yankees Nation was rooting for the Soto trade. Moreover, the NY side was the perfect franchise to deal with the San Diego Padres in terms of what both teams needed. Hence, the Yankees helped the Padres, trading several relievers and catchers.
On the other hand, the San Diego franchise traded Juan Soto and Trent Grisham in a blockbuster trade to the 27-time champions. Previously, the Dominican Republic native mentioned that it was his dream to play for the Yankees. Now, the Yankees got him for a year until he reached free agency. Then, the Yankees can figure out a way to sign him for an extension. Now, the NY side looks like a great collection of genuine game-changers.
Juan Soto Changed Things For The Bronx In A Massive Way Already
After Juan Soto joined the franchise, the Yankees roster gained a huge hitting power as well as a tremendous defensive addition. Soto literally turned the tide in the Yankee’s favor. Last year, they struggled so much, but after the blockbuster deal, they look like true contenders for the title. In the offseason, Brian Cashman mentioned he was looking for a couple of lefty outfielders. Now, the Yankees have three. As a result, it made a huge difference to the underlying stats of the NY side. Moreover, Juan Soto comes with a huge WAR impact. Previously, with Aaron Judge standing alone, the Yankees were 27th in the ranks of outfields.
But now, with Soto, Trent Grisham, and Alex Verdugo, the Pinstripe are at the top of the table. That’s how much impact the blockbuster trade had on the WAR ranks as well. As per FanGraphs, the Yankees had only Judge and pitcher Gerrit Cole in the top 20 of the WAR ranks. Now, they’ve Soto as well, who ranks 13th with 5.5. Judge ranks 16th with 5.3, and Cole ranks 19th with 5.2. Hence, Juan Soto not only changed the vibe of the locker room in the Bronx but also gave them an essential edge.
Yankees Kept Their Promise Of Significant Changes In The Offseason
For the Bronx Faithful, the 2023 season could not have gone worse. It was their worst year in the last 30 years. They finished with an 82-80 record. Albeit, they maintained the streak of winning seasons. But the worst news of all was failing to make the postseason. The NY side could not qualify for the postseason for the first time since 2016. Moreover, their offense really let the Bronx Bombers down. On top of that, the long Injured List didn’t help their cause either.
But the Yankees really needed some reinforcements for their offense. They had the second-worst batting average after the Oakland Athletics in 2023. Defensively, the Bronx Bombers were more or less satisfactory. But they could do a lot more in the offense. Hence, they wanted the best offensive players in the market. The owner, Hal Steinbrenner, mentioned that significant changes were coming.
