The New York Yankees had been discussing with the San Diego Padres for a long time. It was about the superstar Juan Soto. After a terrible 2023 season, the fan morale was down. They even questioned the franchise’s goals and ambitions. Fans were doubting if the Bronx Bombers were serious about making the playoffs and going further in the next season. Hence, there was a lot of pressure on Brian Cashman and his front office.
Very early on in the offseason, Hal Steinbrenner, the owner, claimed they were going to make a lot of changes in the personnel and some outside the personnel. Anyhow, the Yankees Nation is super happy to have the former Padres superstar. But the fans are all the more curious about the status of Soto’s contract with the Bronx Bombers. Moreover, how much did the NY side have to sacrifice to seal the deal with the Padres?
MLB Insider Reveals What It Took For The Yankees To Acquire Juan Soto
As per Andy Martino of SNY, the Yankees gave Drew Thorpe, Michael King, Jhony Brito, Randy Vasquez, and Kyle Higashioka to the San Diego Padres. In return, the Yankees get Juan Soto and Trent Grisham. The difference between the numbers of players is huge. But it sure seems worth it. Moreover, at 25, what Juan Soto has been doing is incredible. Martino even compared Soto with the great Ted Williams. If Soto can help the Yankees become the team they want to be, only time can answer that. But right now, the status is that the Yankees have Soto for a year, and what happens next will be seen in 2025.
If the Yankees can retain Juan Soto in 2025, the fans should be very happy. More importantly, Aaron Boone would play Soto in the right field, moving Aaron Judge to the center and Alex Verdugo to the left. That’s what the Yankees outfield would look like. It is because Soto was below average in the left field. But this outfield plan makes the team stronger defensively. However, it seems like the Yankees will still pursue Yoshinobu Yamamoto, another potentially expensive deal. But Steinbrenner presumably said that there is no connection between why they wanted Soto and why they wanted Yamamoto. Hence, they will go for it.
Bronx Bombers Wanted Soto Desperately
Anyway, the offseason began a little too soon for the NY side as they failed to make the postseason. But the Yankees, in general, hinted at some significant changes would happen in the offseason. Fans and the team, in general, wanted Juan Soto as soon as the Padres stated they would trade him because they wanted to slash the payroll. Since then, Cashman had been discussing with the Padres. But the San Diego franchise was demanding a little too much in return from the Yankees.
Cashman knew how much they needed a superstar lefty slugger, and Soto was the guy they wanted from the beginning. They had a very poor batting average last season. Now, the Yankees fans would hope Juan Soto can help the side get a lot better. But the NY side also had other ideas if the Juan Soto plan didn’t pan out well. They were thinking about Cody Bellinger, who last played for the Chicago Cubs.