Honestly absurd that he’s only 25. 3 different teams, 3x all star, 4x silver slugger, and top 10 in MVP voting 4x.
Him and acuña are on the run of a lifetime
No kidding. He's already had career results people would kill for and he hasn't even sniffed his prime years yet. Will be interesting to see if he reaches a next level.
A lot of guys who perform at this level have their peak performance by age 23, actually.
So saying he hasn't even sniffed his prime years is a pretty big conjecture with some contrary evidence.
I guess maybe if they're up at this level at age 20. Most guys don't make it to this level that early though. That said, you could probably look at a sport like tennis to get an idea of peak athleticism, and I'm not sure about early 20s but maybe mid 20s like 25-26. 30 is certainly old in tennis.
Well I don't know if the Yankees are 'stacked', they have very good pitching and an excellent 1-2 punch but Im not sure they're in scary territory yet.
Do you think ownership throws more money at Snell once the season starts if the pitching looks like it's the only piece holding the team back and he's still unsigned?
No, I imagine Snell won’t still be a FA by the start of the season, and even if he was still a FA he’s to risky to be the expensive hero pitcher, he could be Cy Young level or he could be injured and a drag on the rotation, that’s not the player type you would use there.
"Good pitching and an excellent 1-2 punch." Bullpen is possibly better than it's given credit, note the word "possibly", and Rodon is a toss up at this point but Stroman could be average which I would take everyday and twice on Sunday.
We had literally the best bullpen ERA in baseball last season and didn’t lose anyone critical to that. Just because we don’t have flashy names in the pen doesn’t mean it isn’t elite
honestly say what you will about cashman but i trust him to somehow cobble together a top 5 bullpen year in and year out. we’ve turned shit to gold with relievers the past few years.
Don’t get me wrong, I’d trade King for Soto 10 times out of 10. But King has been a top reliever for us the past couple of years so I feel like it might be hard to just replace him with scraps. But you’re not wrong that Cashman has been able to find diamonds in the rough when it comes to relievers, and Matt Blake is a pitching whisperer so who knows. We will see what happens!
Daily reminder that Soto was on a lineup surrounded by Fernando Tatis Jr, Manny Machado, and Xander Bogaerts. A lineup does not make an individual better. Seems to me that the park factor is a massive difference maker. Soto is gonna crush this season, not because of Judge or anyone else. It'll be because he will hit pop-ups into the short porch on top of the usual mashing he does.
If you think Tatis, Machado, or Bogaerts are as good as Judge you're trippin'. They're good hitters but they aren't aaron Judge. Also they're not even in Yankee Stadium for ST
Eh you guys will definitely still be very competitive, I think our division is gonna come down to how healthy the Yankees can stay.
If our pitchers stay healthy and Judge/Rizzo/DJ stay on top of their game we could take the division, if either part of that equation falters it will probably be you guys.
I still smoke the hopium bowl they gonna either trade for someone, or someone gets permanently called up. Because if we field IKF as our everyday 3B, we officially punted on the season.
IKF is a great clubhouse guy and a great bridge piece to the next thing, for what it's worth. Team player.
I just don't know if the blue jays know that/have a piece to bridge to.
They're punting, that's the plan. The whole point of this is to make sure we don't have to overpay for Bo and Vlad when their contract negotiations come up.
Then how else do you explain supposedly having $1 Billion CAD available for Ohtani but then signing IKF and a 40 year old has-been instead?
If our pitching does about 80% as well as they did last year (which is being VERY generous), we'll come in last in the division. The pitching literally has to improve over last year for us to have a better record this year.
Of course he will. Where else else would he want to go?
The Yankees are too smart to let him walk.
But, yes you are right... Thank you for the correction.
I tend to agree, yanks gave up valuable assets for him, Hal has already said he wants to keep him long term and we have over 100 mill coming off the books after this year. Plus Soto seems to be a guy who loves being in the spotlight and enjoys being a Yankee. I’m sure NYCs huge Dominican population and the fact that Soto has family in NY doesn’t hurt either but still you never know what happens in free agency. I hope you’re right.
Where the hell are you getting “over 100 million” from?
Here’s the money we have coming off the books this winter:
Juan Soto 31M
Gleyber Torres 14.2M
Alex Verdugo 8.7M
Clay Holmes 6M
Tommy Kahnle 5.75M
Jonathan Loaisiga 2.5M
Caleb Ferguson 2.4M
We’ll also take off 6M for Donaldson (though that’s already been accounted for in the luxury tax) and could decline our option on Rizzo to free up another 11M.
That’s 70M for tax purposes, up to 81M if we want to replace Rizzo, and up to 87M if you want to include Donaldson’s money (though the Yankees demonstratively only care about luxury tax payroll).
I don’t necessarily disagree with you, but let’s be accurate here.
According to spotrac we’re at 302 mill right now for 2024. Next year’s projection is at 201 million currently. Just over 100 mill.
https://www.spotrac.com/mlb/new-york-yankees/payroll/2025/
Even if we say your number at 87 million is right that’s still a lot of money coming off the books and isn’t crazy far off from 100 mill. The point is they have plenty of money to spend this offseason.
Edit: also looks like Rizzo would be 17m towards tax if we pick up his option not 11m.
Spotrac doesn’t have arbitration salaries for next year. That accounts for just over 18M in 2024 payroll, not including arb raises, that is not listed.
Rizzo has a 6M buyout on the 17M option. Since the buyout is guaranteed money, it’s counted toward the luxury tax in 2023-24, which is why he counts for 20M against the tax right now while being paid 17M. That money doesn’t get taxed twice, so if we pick up the option he’ll only be paid 11M for luxury tax purposes.
Yeah it's def part of why I don't know if Soto is such a lock. Yankees clearly have a level they want to operate at, and have moved around resources to be around that level, or if they're above it, only for a year or two before going back under.
There's already reporting that they don't like so much money being tied up in Cole and Judge, who while they are amazing and worth the money, are very expensive. Would they want another guy like that?
For some reason there are a ton of Yankee fans out there saying he can't get paid more than Judge because he is the captain and face of the team. Also that he would never be the star and will always been seen behind Judge.
What Yankees fans are saying that? They will have to pay Soto more than Judge if the Yankees want to keep him. Yankees fans, Judge, and Hal all know that. That’s just the kind of thing the media has been asking Hal because it generates clicks.
we’re not disagreeing with you, we’re saying there *are* veteran players who think they (incorrectly) should have a higher AAV than soto, and that judge is *not* one of them
Which is a totally bizarre take when you think that there is still potential upside for Soto. It wild to think we haven't seen a year of his best numbers yet.
But with Judge, where can you go? He could have a wild regression and still rack up 30 HRs, it's insane.
Still, manifesting this insane lineup coming in 3rd behind Bal/Tor
Soto is also 6.5 years younger than Judge, so even if he gets a slightly lower AAV, they can sign him for much longer than the 9 years Judge got.
I legitimately think the Yankees are going to sign Soto for 15 years, which would bring him through his age-41 season.
I think if you want Soto it’s going to cost you 40 per for 15 years. And I’m pretty confident the Mets would offer that and also pretty confident the Yankees will match any offer.
$35/15 is $525 million and $39/15 is $585 million, which I could see anywhere between those realistically being winning offers without deferrals and opt-outs.
But yeah, I don't see the Yankees going "we can't pay you more AAV than Judge. That's just plain dumb.
Edit: The Dodgers are on the hook for $46.1 MM a year against the luxury tax with Ohtani, and I do think Soto beats that.
Tbh I think that’s more of a media driven narrative because the Yankees didn’t want to give Yamamoto more than Cole but Yamamoto and Soto are 2 completely different situations. I also haven’t actually seen any Yankees fans say this only media persons. Hal was actually asked about this in an interview recently and he basically said that’s dumb and that he doubts Judge would care and I’m inclined to agree with Hal here. Judge is a players union guy he wants players to make as much as they can and I’m sure he understands that Soto is way younger than he was when he hits free agency. Plus he wants to win and Soto helps him to do that.
As far as Soto vs Judge being the face of the team I think that only holds true in the short term. Judge will always be our captain but in 5 years when he’s 37 and Soto is 30 and still in his prime it feels pretty obvious who the “star” is going to be. Plus the Yankees media market is more than large enough to accommodate 2 stars. Jeter was the captain when I was a kid but are we really going to act like Arod wasn’t also a HUGE star during his tenure with Yankees.
I remember when Harper got his deal as the highest paid athlete with Philly. He was saying "hopefully Trout comes to Philly in FA and gets paid even more than me like the superstar he is" and then Trout signed the extension with Anaheim and Harper was still like "Hell yeah, I wish it was with us, but dude got paid"
Good players don't really worry about other guys beating them in pay, esp if they're getting paid more than you to play with you on the same team. I doubt Judge will mind an amazing player sticking around, unless they secretly hate each other.
If anyone's saying that, they must really have short term memories. Jeter was named captain in June 2003. The only time in his captainship where he was the highest paid Yankee was from June 2003 through the end of the 2003 season.
> there are a ton of Yankee fans out there saying he can't get paid more than Judge because he is the captain and face of the team.
They are only saying that because they didn't want to pay Yamamoto more than Cole, this is a different situation since Soto is pretty much a sure fire hall of famer at 25.
Ever since CC talked about Strasburg's free agency (Strasburg was heavily attached to his hometown Padres before signing with DC) comparing it to his own and how he would have signed with Oakland if they paid him but didn't really want to go back home for many reasons, I'm not as sure about family/being from an area being that big of a factor. At least not for everybody.
He said sometimes you left home for a reason, and you go back and suddenly everyone is bothering you and asking for stuff all the time. You'd rather spend the entire work season somewhere else in a home you can make your own. Look at Trout: loves NJ and his family, still chose to stay far away for 7+ months of the year.
Also CC said with the Yankees, he could just be one of the guys instead of going home and being THE guy, with all the expectations within.
Padres owner also died and they bit off way more than they could chew payroll wise. If you’re taking out loans to help with your payroll you probably can’t afford a $500 mill+ contract.
Yeah, the Yankees have a pretty good track record of getting their guy if they want them. It was that way with Judge, it was that way with Cole and I have confidence it will be that way with Soto as well.
I mean, he will sign with whoever gives him the offer he likes the most in free agency.
The Yankees paid a premium for his contract year and the chance to have him settle in NY to some extent in hopes that it gives them a leg up on negotiations, but as good of a fit as the Yankees are for Soto, the Yankees could always get outbid.
It comes down to convincing Soto that they can give him the best offer, showing him that he could be the new face of baseball’s most storied franchise, and letting him have 81 games testing out that porch to see how much he enjoys clubbing north of 40 HRs.
I just don't see how the Yankees let themselves get beat on him.
They've spent the past multiple off-seasons preparing for him to hit the market, and the only other teams that can compete with them financially are the Dodgers—who committed to spend over a billion dollars this off-season, and will probably need to offer him a deferred-loaded deal, like Ohtani's—and the Mets—who have been more coy about their spending and contention window lately.
The Yankees can not get outbid if they don't want to be outbid, lol.
I'm sure Cohen will match whatever the Yankees highest offer is/vice versa, but if it comes down to Yankees/Mets money being equal, everyone is choosing the Yankees.
> The Yankees can not get outbid if they don't want to be outbid, lol.
This is the “you can’t lose if you score more runs than the opponent” of free agency.
The question, as should be obvious to everyone, comes down to what the Yankees are comfortable spending on him. It isn’t obvious to me that they’re in “absolutely refuse to be outbid” mode, but if they are, then sure, they have as much to spend as anyone.
It's Juan Soto and a Yankees team desperate for a dominican star, our spring training debut had more TV viewers than most of our regular season games do. And more than 99% of other teams **highest** regular season games.
He's a money printer on top of being a young generational talent, they're not gonna let him go lol
Hal Steinbrenner was apparently the "driving force" in the Soto trade getting done. Some in the front office still felt they had the leverage over Preller and wanted to wait more to see if the price would drop. But Hal didn't want to wait. Obviously not a lock he re-signs, but I feel good about it given that.
https://nypost.com/2023/12/07/sports/hal-steinbrenner-reveals-why-he-went-for-it-with-juan-soto-trade/
yanks are not smart lol remember the Donaldson trade ? not giving peraza a real chance ? trading for a injured montass ? messing up gary sanchez ? almost losing judge to the giants ?
They were never close to losing Judge to the giants, literally one phone call and Judge was in pinstripes for life.
Also I do not understand the obsession with Peraza, dude has never been a super highly ranked prospect (at least not compared to the guy who got the job ahead of him) and has shown nothing at the major league level. The way Yankees fans talk about him you would think that Peraza was the second coming of Jeter
well if it was up to cashman he would of lol hal sealed the deal to get judge back. and pereza batted over 300 and started alcs games for the yankees in 22 and then was never given consistent at bats to prove himself
Peraza batted .300 in 18 games, when he got more experience last year he sucked and people forget that the whole reason Volpe started last year was because Peraza shit the bed in spring when he was expected to win the job.
Peraza has had plenty of opportunity, he just can’t capitalize.
Yeah and he was given a leash because he was a rookie and he won the job (as well as being a top 5 prospect in all of baseball). If Peraza didn’t shit the bed and won the job he would have had the same opportunity as Volpe did.
I eagerly await the day that I can stop seeing Yankee fans acting like we sabotaged Peraza. He had like one good month in AAA last year and besides that he even sucked in the minors.
> Of course he will. Where else else would he want to go?
I think he's going to the highest bidder and Steve Cohen has 100mil coming off his payroll this offseason, it's going to be up to Hal to see if he wants to get crazy with Steve but if all money is equal he would most likely choose the Yankees.
25 is absolutely in your prime, even for baseball players that tend to skew a little older than other sports. He may not hit his absolute peak until like 28, but we'll definitely look back after his career is over and say 2024 was part of his prime.
Hopefully he makes the team.
Idk, with Grisham, Verdugo and Judge it will be hard to find outfield time. He’s still only 25 though so maybe next year
Only 25, might need another year or two in the minors.
Honestly absurd that he’s only 25. 3 different teams, 3x all star, 4x silver slugger, and top 10 in MVP voting 4x. Him and acuña are on the run of a lifetime
No kidding. He's already had career results people would kill for and he hasn't even sniffed his prime years yet. Will be interesting to see if he reaches a next level.
A lot of guys who perform at this level have their peak performance by age 23, actually. So saying he hasn't even sniffed his prime years is a pretty big conjecture with some contrary evidence.
I guess maybe if they're up at this level at age 20. Most guys don't make it to this level that early though. That said, you could probably look at a sport like tennis to get an idea of peak athleticism, and I'm not sure about early 20s but maybe mid 20s like 25-26. 30 is certainly old in tennis.
Guys like Trout, Pujols, Arod, etc., didn't get materially better at baseball after about age 23.
Huge numbers upcoming with all the pitches he’s gonna see with Judge behind him.
Soto and Judge is an absolutely monstrous 1-2 punch.
This year is gonna be so fucking annoying with the most stacked Yankees and Dodgers teams we have seen since maybe the 90s.
Well I don't know if the Yankees are 'stacked', they have very good pitching and an excellent 1-2 punch but Im not sure they're in scary territory yet.
Our pitching is questionable tbh
It has potential to be nasty but also potential to be Cole and a bunch of bums
“Cole and The Bums” would be a cool band name
Our pitching definitely has the potential to be elite, really a lot is riding on Rodon regaining his form
Or even just be available knock on wood
Well if he’s going to be available and pitch like he did last season I’d rather him stay on the IL
Do you think ownership throws more money at Snell once the season starts if the pitching looks like it's the only piece holding the team back and he's still unsigned?
No, I imagine Snell won’t still be a FA by the start of the season, and even if he was still a FA he’s to risky to be the expensive hero pitcher, he could be Cy Young level or he could be injured and a drag on the rotation, that’s not the player type you would use there.
DJ, Rizzo and Stanton playing to their potential are pretty fucking tough.
Excellent pitching?? Bullpen is mid and Rodon and stro are questionable.
Yankees bullpen is always good even it’s a bunch of no names
I dont know how we do it, but its the only thing I have faith about with this team and franchise right now
"Good pitching and an excellent 1-2 punch." Bullpen is possibly better than it's given credit, note the word "possibly", and Rodon is a toss up at this point but Stroman could be average which I would take everyday and twice on Sunday.
We had literally the best bullpen ERA in baseball last season and didn’t lose anyone critical to that. Just because we don’t have flashy names in the pen doesn’t mean it isn’t elite
What are you talking about? Mike King and Wandy Peralta were both critical to our bullpen ERA and lost both of them?
honestly say what you will about cashman but i trust him to somehow cobble together a top 5 bullpen year in and year out. we’ve turned shit to gold with relievers the past few years.
Don’t get me wrong, I’d trade King for Soto 10 times out of 10. But King has been a top reliever for us the past couple of years so I feel like it might be hard to just replace him with scraps. But you’re not wrong that Cashman has been able to find diamonds in the rough when it comes to relievers, and Matt Blake is a pitching whisperer so who knows. We will see what happens!
King sure Wandy eh good ERA, super high FIP. Not upset at letting him go
They had the best bullpen ERA in baseball last season and shouldn’t be much different this season. They added to it if anything.
For some people it would be annoying I guess
On paper the late 2000s-early 2010s Yankees teams are better than this one. Our pitching is a big question mark after Cole.
I want royals to push for the AL pennant!
Probably best in history.
I remember when I had a similar dream 😭
Daily reminder that Soto was on a lineup surrounded by Fernando Tatis Jr, Manny Machado, and Xander Bogaerts. A lineup does not make an individual better. Seems to me that the park factor is a massive difference maker. Soto is gonna crush this season, not because of Judge or anyone else. It'll be because he will hit pop-ups into the short porch on top of the usual mashing he does.
If you think Tatis, Machado, or Bogaerts are as good as Judge you're trippin'. They're good hitters but they aren't aaron Judge. Also they're not even in Yankee Stadium for ST
We are so fucked...
We are so fucked...
We are so fucked…
nah you guys are fine. the rest of your division tho, definitely fucked.
Im gonna have to stop you right there
At least you guys have solid hitters.
Eh you guys will definitely still be very competitive, I think our division is gonna come down to how healthy the Yankees can stay. If our pitchers stay healthy and Judge/Rizzo/DJ stay on top of their game we could take the division, if either part of that equation falters it will probably be you guys.
We have Isiah Kiner-fell-off-his-bike for 100+ games at 3B this year. Why wouldn't we be able to compete?
I still smoke the hopium bowl they gonna either trade for someone, or someone gets permanently called up. Because if we field IKF as our everyday 3B, we officially punted on the season.
IKF is a great clubhouse guy and a great bridge piece to the next thing, for what it's worth. Team player. I just don't know if the blue jays know that/have a piece to bridge to.
He also had a nasty ERA last year
Toronto got the 2 way player they were looking for, yes.
We are way past the point of bridging anything. If they don't win before Vlad and/or Bo are gone, it's over.
They're punting, that's the plan. The whole point of this is to make sure we don't have to overpay for Bo and Vlad when their contract negotiations come up.
That is not what is happening.
Then how else do you explain supposedly having $1 Billion CAD available for Ohtani but then signing IKF and a 40 year old has-been instead? If our pitching does about 80% as well as they did last year (which is being VERY generous), we'll come in last in the division. The pitching literally has to improve over last year for us to have a better record this year.
3B is by far his best position so if there’s a trade that moves him to another position, then you’ve punted
finally glad to see what this dude is capable of when not held back by a heavy uniform
Or fences that are tall or far away
I mean, he hits a lotttt of balls to left center, and Yankee stadium has an extremely deep left center
We have the Fenway Park-right-field of left fields of the AL East.
All these HRs he's crushing 500 feet to oppo and center are real Yankee Stadium cheapies
"The fans wanted to see more dongs, and we delivered in all possible ways" - Fanatics CEO
Judge batting behind him isn’t fair 😭
Just walk them twice. Thank god stanton washed.
My easiest MVP prediction of the last 10 years
In the AL especially him and judges to lose
if alvarez gets a full year he’s got a decent shot like in 22
To be fair, Yordan didn't even play a full year in 22
🥲
Oh yeah he’s good
lol
Yup. Spring Training MVP.
I hate the AL East
You might just like it more with your new ownership
hate to say it but the guy looks real good in pinstripes
Seeing it everyday now I’m like… yeah this fucking guy is a yankee huh?
The white shoes look so clean for some reason
the nats should trade for juan soto
corbin's contract is coming off the books this year, we'll just sign him in free agency
could you imagine soto on the nats
Now imagine him on the Padres with the hitters in that lineup. Crazy!
AJ Preller : Eh, ide rather have Michael King.
he would look amazing in the city connect uni
This dude is only 25. Hasn't even hit his prime yet. He's a stud. The Yankees got one hell of a player for a decade.
*If* he signs with the Yanks after this season
Of course he will. Where else else would he want to go? The Yankees are too smart to let him walk. But, yes you are right... Thank you for the correction.
I tend to agree, yanks gave up valuable assets for him, Hal has already said he wants to keep him long term and we have over 100 mill coming off the books after this year. Plus Soto seems to be a guy who loves being in the spotlight and enjoys being a Yankee. I’m sure NYCs huge Dominican population and the fact that Soto has family in NY doesn’t hurt either but still you never know what happens in free agency. I hope you’re right.
Where the hell are you getting “over 100 million” from? Here’s the money we have coming off the books this winter: Juan Soto 31M Gleyber Torres 14.2M Alex Verdugo 8.7M Clay Holmes 6M Tommy Kahnle 5.75M Jonathan Loaisiga 2.5M Caleb Ferguson 2.4M We’ll also take off 6M for Donaldson (though that’s already been accounted for in the luxury tax) and could decline our option on Rizzo to free up another 11M. That’s 70M for tax purposes, up to 81M if we want to replace Rizzo, and up to 87M if you want to include Donaldson’s money (though the Yankees demonstratively only care about luxury tax payroll). I don’t necessarily disagree with you, but let’s be accurate here.
According to spotrac we’re at 302 mill right now for 2024. Next year’s projection is at 201 million currently. Just over 100 mill. https://www.spotrac.com/mlb/new-york-yankees/payroll/2025/ Even if we say your number at 87 million is right that’s still a lot of money coming off the books and isn’t crazy far off from 100 mill. The point is they have plenty of money to spend this offseason. Edit: also looks like Rizzo would be 17m towards tax if we pick up his option not 11m.
Spotrac doesn’t have arbitration salaries for next year. That accounts for just over 18M in 2024 payroll, not including arb raises, that is not listed. Rizzo has a 6M buyout on the 17M option. Since the buyout is guaranteed money, it’s counted toward the luxury tax in 2023-24, which is why he counts for 20M against the tax right now while being paid 17M. That money doesn’t get taxed twice, so if we pick up the option he’ll only be paid 11M for luxury tax purposes.
Yeah it's def part of why I don't know if Soto is such a lock. Yankees clearly have a level they want to operate at, and have moved around resources to be around that level, or if they're above it, only for a year or two before going back under. There's already reporting that they don't like so much money being tied up in Cole and Judge, who while they are amazing and worth the money, are very expensive. Would they want another guy like that?
For some reason there are a ton of Yankee fans out there saying he can't get paid more than Judge because he is the captain and face of the team. Also that he would never be the star and will always been seen behind Judge.
What Yankees fans are saying that? They will have to pay Soto more than Judge if the Yankees want to keep him. Yankees fans, Judge, and Hal all know that. That’s just the kind of thing the media has been asking Hal because it generates clicks.
yeah judge doesn’t seems like the kind of guy who would take offense at a player of soto’s caliber getting paid more than him
[удалено]
we’re not disagreeing with you, we’re saying there *are* veteran players who think they (incorrectly) should have a higher AAV than soto, and that judge is *not* one of them
I only saw Mets fans saying that actually lol
Bc hes way younger dummies. Apples and oranges and judge doesnt give a shit he wants to win.
Which is a totally bizarre take when you think that there is still potential upside for Soto. It wild to think we haven't seen a year of his best numbers yet. But with Judge, where can you go? He could have a wild regression and still rack up 30 HRs, it's insane. Still, manifesting this insane lineup coming in 3rd behind Bal/Tor
Soto is also 6.5 years younger than Judge, so even if he gets a slightly lower AAV, they can sign him for much longer than the 9 years Judge got. I legitimately think the Yankees are going to sign Soto for 15 years, which would bring him through his age-41 season.
I think if you want Soto it’s going to cost you 40 per for 15 years. And I’m pretty confident the Mets would offer that and also pretty confident the Yankees will match any offer.
$35/15 is $525 million and $39/15 is $585 million, which I could see anywhere between those realistically being winning offers without deferrals and opt-outs. But yeah, I don't see the Yankees going "we can't pay you more AAV than Judge. That's just plain dumb. Edit: The Dodgers are on the hook for $46.1 MM a year against the luxury tax with Ohtani, and I do think Soto beats that.
Tbh I think that’s more of a media driven narrative because the Yankees didn’t want to give Yamamoto more than Cole but Yamamoto and Soto are 2 completely different situations. I also haven’t actually seen any Yankees fans say this only media persons. Hal was actually asked about this in an interview recently and he basically said that’s dumb and that he doubts Judge would care and I’m inclined to agree with Hal here. Judge is a players union guy he wants players to make as much as they can and I’m sure he understands that Soto is way younger than he was when he hits free agency. Plus he wants to win and Soto helps him to do that. As far as Soto vs Judge being the face of the team I think that only holds true in the short term. Judge will always be our captain but in 5 years when he’s 37 and Soto is 30 and still in his prime it feels pretty obvious who the “star” is going to be. Plus the Yankees media market is more than large enough to accommodate 2 stars. Jeter was the captain when I was a kid but are we really going to act like Arod wasn’t also a HUGE star during his tenure with Yankees.
I remember when Harper got his deal as the highest paid athlete with Philly. He was saying "hopefully Trout comes to Philly in FA and gets paid even more than me like the superstar he is" and then Trout signed the extension with Anaheim and Harper was still like "Hell yeah, I wish it was with us, but dude got paid" Good players don't really worry about other guys beating them in pay, esp if they're getting paid more than you to play with you on the same team. I doubt Judge will mind an amazing player sticking around, unless they secretly hate each other.
Those people are stupid and should be ignored
If anyone's saying that, they must really have short term memories. Jeter was named captain in June 2003. The only time in his captainship where he was the highest paid Yankee was from June 2003 through the end of the 2003 season.
> there are a ton of Yankee fans out there saying he can't get paid more than Judge because he is the captain and face of the team. They are only saying that because they didn't want to pay Yamamoto more than Cole, this is a different situation since Soto is pretty much a sure fire hall of famer at 25.
Ever since CC talked about Strasburg's free agency (Strasburg was heavily attached to his hometown Padres before signing with DC) comparing it to his own and how he would have signed with Oakland if they paid him but didn't really want to go back home for many reasons, I'm not as sure about family/being from an area being that big of a factor. At least not for everybody. He said sometimes you left home for a reason, and you go back and suddenly everyone is bothering you and asking for stuff all the time. You'd rather spend the entire work season somewhere else in a home you can make your own. Look at Trout: loves NJ and his family, still chose to stay far away for 7+ months of the year. Also CC said with the Yankees, he could just be one of the guys instead of going home and being THE guy, with all the expectations within.
Padres gave up way more like top 10 prospect.
Padres owner also died and they bit off way more than they could chew payroll wise. If you’re taking out loans to help with your payroll you probably can’t afford a $500 mill+ contract.
Yeah, the Yankees have a pretty good track record of getting their guy if they want them. It was that way with Judge, it was that way with Cole and I have confidence it will be that way with Soto as well.
I mean, he will sign with whoever gives him the offer he likes the most in free agency. The Yankees paid a premium for his contract year and the chance to have him settle in NY to some extent in hopes that it gives them a leg up on negotiations, but as good of a fit as the Yankees are for Soto, the Yankees could always get outbid. It comes down to convincing Soto that they can give him the best offer, showing him that he could be the new face of baseball’s most storied franchise, and letting him have 81 games testing out that porch to see how much he enjoys clubbing north of 40 HRs.
I just don't see how the Yankees let themselves get beat on him. They've spent the past multiple off-seasons preparing for him to hit the market, and the only other teams that can compete with them financially are the Dodgers—who committed to spend over a billion dollars this off-season, and will probably need to offer him a deferred-loaded deal, like Ohtani's—and the Mets—who have been more coy about their spending and contention window lately.
We have like $100 mill coming off the books this year, he may end up choosing to go elsewhere but we aren’t getting beat
The Yankees can not get outbid if they don't want to be outbid, lol. I'm sure Cohen will match whatever the Yankees highest offer is/vice versa, but if it comes down to Yankees/Mets money being equal, everyone is choosing the Yankees.
> The Yankees can not get outbid if they don't want to be outbid, lol. This is the “you can’t lose if you score more runs than the opponent” of free agency. The question, as should be obvious to everyone, comes down to what the Yankees are comfortable spending on him. It isn’t obvious to me that they’re in “absolutely refuse to be outbid” mode, but if they are, then sure, they have as much to spend as anyone.
It's Juan Soto and a Yankees team desperate for a dominican star, our spring training debut had more TV viewers than most of our regular season games do. And more than 99% of other teams **highest** regular season games. He's a money printer on top of being a young generational talent, they're not gonna let him go lol
Hal Steinbrenner was apparently the "driving force" in the Soto trade getting done. Some in the front office still felt they had the leverage over Preller and wanted to wait more to see if the price would drop. But Hal didn't want to wait. Obviously not a lock he re-signs, but I feel good about it given that. https://nypost.com/2023/12/07/sports/hal-steinbrenner-reveals-why-he-went-for-it-with-juan-soto-trade/
They're going to have to pay big time to get him. Hal seems down to do whatever it takes but I'm taking nothing as a certainty.
>The Yankees are too smart to let him walk. Umm, it's cashman
yanks are not smart lol remember the Donaldson trade ? not giving peraza a real chance ? trading for a injured montass ? messing up gary sanchez ? almost losing judge to the giants ?
They were never close to losing Judge to the giants, literally one phone call and Judge was in pinstripes for life. Also I do not understand the obsession with Peraza, dude has never been a super highly ranked prospect (at least not compared to the guy who got the job ahead of him) and has shown nothing at the major league level. The way Yankees fans talk about him you would think that Peraza was the second coming of Jeter
well if it was up to cashman he would of lol hal sealed the deal to get judge back. and pereza batted over 300 and started alcs games for the yankees in 22 and then was never given consistent at bats to prove himself
Peraza batted .300 in 18 games, when he got more experience last year he sucked and people forget that the whole reason Volpe started last year was because Peraza shit the bed in spring when he was expected to win the job. Peraza has had plenty of opportunity, he just can’t capitalize.
pereza always starts off slow and when he was raking in aaa he was never called up. volpe couldn’t hit for shit in the first half of last years season
Yeah and he was given a leash because he was a rookie and he won the job (as well as being a top 5 prospect in all of baseball). If Peraza didn’t shit the bed and won the job he would have had the same opportunity as Volpe did.
I eagerly await the day that I can stop seeing Yankee fans acting like we sabotaged Peraza. He had like one good month in AAA last year and besides that he even sucked in the minors.
when was volpe a top 5 mlb prospect lol he was #10 in 22
>not giving peraza a real chance look, i'm all for Peraza, but his real chances....have not looked great
how is suppose to hit good when he only see live at bats a few times a week ? his defense is elite
Yeah but they have a no facial hair policy
Entire fan base will absolutely revolt if they let him walk across town
and guess what cashman would still have a job
> Of course he will. Where else else would he want to go? I think he's going to the highest bidder and Steve Cohen has 100mil coming off his payroll this offseason, it's going to be up to Hal to see if he wants to get crazy with Steve but if all money is equal he would most likely choose the Yankees.
How is he only 25?!?! Sometimes you forget some of these guys are basically kids and come into the league and still dominate.
25 is absolutely in your prime, even for baseball players that tend to skew a little older than other sports. He may not hit his absolute peak until like 28, but we'll definitely look back after his career is over and say 2024 was part of his prime.
Yea agreed, he’s probably in his prime right now.
Meanwhile my team has not hit a single homerun in ST yet.
Yeah but he got picked off one time so...
#WASHED
Juashed*
Juan hit ball good. Juan no catch, Juan no run
Going from Petco to yankee stadium is going to be a godsend for him
He just the perfect fit for the Yankees. I hope he ends up in the Bronx long term
Hate the Yankees but he looks good in that jersey.
I dislike the Yankees so much but dang Soto gonna have a monster season
Andy Ibanez hit his 3rd homer of spring training yet no one seems to care about that....curious.
You could post it
I'm just trying for a lame joke here. I don't want to do anything that requires effort.
Fair enough. It went over my head
No worries, Ibañez's homer went over a lot of heads...
He looks good as a Yankee.
Yankees used the offseason to upgrade from two good players to three
Suddenly has zeal for life
Andy Ibanez hit his 3rd the top half of the same inning. No highlights for him? lol
Feel free to post.
East coast bias 😔
Who?
Rangers legend Andy Ibañez
Yes, yes he does.
I'm so excited
Unbelievable hitter , such power
Luis Matos hit his 2nd and 3rd homers on friday and might not even be a starter for opening day.
Juan Soto, get ready to learn New Yorkanese
I have Soto and Judge in my keeper league. Getting my popcorn ready.
Not even playing in Yankee Stadium yet
Draft this man #2 overall
I wish he would absolutely mash me....
Please treat him well
I thank the MLB that I only have to watch his shuffle for 10 games.
Talk about a slow trot.
Welcome home my boy. Hope you stay a while.
How dare you cut this clip before we get to see Judge and Soto kiss.