The New York Yankees traded for Juan Soto from the San Diego Padres last offseason. Clearly, the NY side needed to make some significant changes to bolster their offense and outfield. Last year, the 27-time champions suffered due to a weak and injury-prone offense. Although they had great players, if they are not healthy, then what’s the point? Eventually, the Bronx Bombers failed to make the postseason. Then, the 2023 season turned out to be the worst season for the Yankees in the past 30 years. They finished with an awful 82-80 record.
Moreover, they had the second-worst batting average in the league last year behind the Oakland Athletics. Hence, they needed a left-handed superstar slugger to boost the morale of the camp. And who’s a more ideal choice than the three-time All-Star Juan Soto? Moreover, the Yankee Stadium is perfect for the Dominican superstar, given his hitting arc. And he has been proven worth it ever since the start of the 2024 season. The three-time All-Star is enjoying a great start to his journey as a Yankee. But how is it helping the Padres since they traded Soto to the Yankees?
How Did The SD Padres and The Yankees Both Benefit From The Juan Soto Trade?
The San Diego Padres look like a worthy contender for the NL West after trading Juan Soto, Blake Snell, and Josh Hader in the last offseason. They added several starting pitchers like Michael King and Dylan Cease. King went to San Diego from New York owing to the Juan Soto trade. Currently, the Padres look really balanced, and they are doing fine financially. The reason why they had to trade Juan Soto was to bring balance to their payroll. Moreover, the Padres saved a boatload of money after trading Blake Snell as well. Later, the Padres right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. mentioned, as per Jack Magruder of Forbes, that initially, trading Juan Soto did not seem like the ideal thing to do.
However, the more he keeps seeing what Michael King and Dylan Cease can do, the more he feels that they bring the team to a whole new level. The right fielder believes the team currently looks capable of doing something special this year. Clearly, the Padres are happy with the balance and the pitching that King and Cease are bringing to the table. But Tatis also feels that they must keep doing the little things and keep themselves in the balance. On the other hand, Juan Soto, for the Yankees, continues to do the unthinkable. It has been only 24 games so far this season.
Can The Dominican Superstar Beat Ohtani’s Record?
The SD Padres’ trade of Juan Soto was a smart fiscal play. The 2024 season will be the Dominican’s $31 million walk year. The three-time All-Star is currently playing, and he will clearly be a top-tier free agent. He is only 25 years old. Surely, teams are looking to offer him long-term contracts worth $50 million per year.
Can the Yankees give their new superstar an offer that he can’t refuse? Despite being only 25 years old, the Dominican slugger has an impressive resume. He has already won a World Series with the Washington Nationals in his second MLB season. If he can help the Yankees win their 28th, he might get a contract bigger than Shohei Ohtani’s epic $700M deal.
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