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The decision of the offseason finally happened, as Juan Soto has agreed to a record-breaking deal with the New York Mets. The New York Yankees losing him certainly won’t be something the fan base is thrilled about, and Soto’s reaction might make them even more upset.
Soto celebrated with alcohol showered on him while he was enjoying his time in a hot tub, with someone in the back screaming, “You earned it.”
After signing for $765 million, the largest deal in professional sports history, it’s safe to say Soto deserves some alcohol showered on him.
Mets fans must have the same excitement he has after signing arguably the best pure hitter in Major League Baseball.
Soto Leaving a ‘Devastating Blow’
There isn’t much to say from the New York Yankees’ perspective outside of this being the worst-case scenario. Take away the fact that Soto left for the New York Mets, and it doesn’t make things much better.
The Yankees lineup was already a question mark with Soto in it. The Yankees were top-heavy, and while the same could be said for most teams around Major League Baseball, the drop in the Yankees lineup is currently significant after the first few hitters.
Mike Axisa of CBS Sports wrote that him leaving is a “devastating blow,” bringing up the Yankees’ past failures of trying to replace a star’s production with other players.
“There is no sugarcoating it: Soto leaving is a devastating blow to the Yankees, a team that had a very top-heavy offense last season and was going to have to address holes up and down the roster even if they were able to re-sign the superstar. They need a first baseman, either a second or third baseman, bullpen help, maybe another starter, and now at least one more outfielder. Possibly two.
“Replacing Soto in the aggregate — signing 3-4 players with the money they were going to give Soto — is a fine idea that doesn’t work all that neatly in real life. The Yankees have tried this before. During the 2013-14 offseason, they signed Carlos Beltrán, Jacoby Ellsbury, and Brian McCann after losing Robinson Canó in free agency. They then won one fewer game in 2014 than 2013,” Axisa wrote on December 8.
Where Do the Yankees Go From Here?
The New York Yankees are fortunate that this is a talented free-agency class. While they had a reported 16-year, $760 million offer for Soto on the table, that doesn’t mean the Yankees can spend nearly as much this winter.
If he had signed with the Yankees, Soto’s contract would’ve been $47.5 million for 2025. Despite that being a good amount to spend on others, many of the top players on the market are expected to get around $30 million AAV, if not more.
If the Yankees are as serious about winning as they need to be, they’d be willing to up that figure and sign a few players. They could sign two or three impact players and trade for others, perhaps making up for losing Soto.
This made things much more difficult, but there’s no reason to give up now after they were willing to spend.
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