Juan Soto will play for the New York Yankees next season. It is a pretty big deal for the Bronx Bombers. However, the NY side managed to land him only for a year. Next offseason, the Dominican slugger will be the biggest free agent. If the Pinstripes don’t offer him anything close to Shohei Ohtani’s deal with the LA Dodgers this free agency, he will surely move to other teams.
Any team would love to sign Soto for a long term. As his agent Scott Boras says, “The Dominican is an offense in itself.” But as long as the lefty superstar outfielder is with the Bronx Bombers, the team’s offense will be one of the strongest. Moreover, the game style of the Dominican is ideal for the Yankee stadium.
How Can Juan Soto Use The Short Porch To His Benefit Without Any Big Changes?
The Dominican slugger can arguably be the best hitter available at present in the league. He is a new Yankee star. But he is not a pull hitter. Juan Soto ranks 92 on the list of 133 qualified hitters in pull rate. It is not about how he approaches fly balls. Moreover, Juan Soto is among the best opposite gap hitters in the game. This approach might just work for the Dominican superstar. The way his swing works is just ideal for the Yankee stadium. He won’t need to change much about his swings before he steps on to the Yankee’s ballpark.
But Juan Soto is famous for being an intellectual reader of the game. He determined his success around his strength and ability to hit towards the opposite field gap. Moreover, Juan Soto can make a few adjustments to his game. He can try and pull fly balls. That way, he can use the favorable dimensions of the right field to his advantage. Hence, he must try to attack more high heaters. A slight change to his mechanics can work very well for his already amazing profile.
Yankees Look Good At Present With Their Stunning Outfield
Moreover, the NY side currently has the best lineup with outfielders – Aaron Judge, Juan Soto, Alex Verdugo, and so on. The San Diego Padres also traded Trent Grisham to the Yankees in the same deal with Juan Soto. Albeit, the Pinstripes had to trade a lot of relievers and catchers in return to the Padres. But it was necessary as the Yankees failed to make the postseason in 2023 because of the second-worst batting average. They had one of the worst offenses this season. Moreover, the team so far relied too heavily on Aaron Judge as he was their only superstar outfielder.
Hence, the Yankees front office was looking for a couple of lefty outfielders and a quality pitcher. Currently, the NY Yankees are still in the market looking to sign Yoshinobu Yamamoto to bolster their bullpen. With Yamamoto, the Yankees can have a pretty good starting pitcher to play alongside Gerrit Cole. But before that, the Pinstripes had to deal with landing superstar outfielders. There was Cody Bellinger, too, available as an option. But the Yankees ensured they sign Juan Soto for at least a year.