Top 5 Reasons Why the Yankees Should be Happy They Lost Out on Juan Soto

As the entire baseball world, and even the whole world of sports, knows by now, 26-year-old historically great slugger Juan Soto agreed to sign the largest contract in professional sports on Sunday. When all 15 years of his contract are complete, Soto will be 41 years old and will have collected as much as $820 million from the New York Mets.

What if the New York Yankees actually are better off after losing Soto to the Mets? Conventional wisdom holds that cannot be true. The Yankees got to their first World Series since 2009, propelled by Soto’s bat, after winning 94 games. Taking his offense out of the lineup has to make the team worse. Right?

Could there be another way of looking at the Soto signing? Here are the top five reasons why losing Soto could actually be good for the Yankees.

They can focus on their own player development.

With Soto gone, the Yankees focus must finally shift to their own player development system. The Yankees farm system ranks only 29th of the 30  MLB organizations, in the Bleacher Report ratings. The system needs attention, as do top prospects such as 21-year-old Jasson Dominguez who signed with massive expectations out of the Dominican Republic in 2009. Dominguez “hasn’t lived up to reports of possible well-above-average tools across the board,” according to MLB.com.

The Yankees lower their long-term risk

If Soto remains healthy, he could give a team anywhere between five and nine high quality years. The problem is, his contract run 15 years. Those last six to 10 years when Soto will collect almost$50 million per year even if he’s in serious decline are now the Mets problem, not the Yankees.

They can spend money on more players.

“I have a sneaking suspicion the Yankees breathed a sigh of relief when Juan Soto picked the Mets on Sunday night. Although owner Hal Steinbrenner continued to increase his offers until the final hours, he can now spread the millions on the rest of the roster,” wrote NJ Advance Media columnist Bob Klapisch. 

If they had won the Soto bidding war, the Yankees would have to pay Soto almost $50 million per year. That’s $10 million more per season than they pay their current top earner, Aaron Judge. Two or three quality free agents could now sign with the Yankees for the price of one Soto.

Aaron Judge can have a longer career

Judge, the true face of the modern Yankees franchise who belted a stunning 58 home runs in 2024, may now return to his natural position in right field, a move that could prolong Judge’s career. 

The wear-and-tear of playing center field would likely soon take a toll on him, especially as he enters his age-33 season. Judge’s 315 career home runs in nine seasons give him the highest average annual home run production of any active player, so the Yankees have a strong interest in keeping him as healthy and rested as they can.

The Ewing Theory

Named for former NBA star Patrick Ewing, the “Ewing Theory” states that when a team loses a star player who is the focus media and fan attention, that team actually performs better. Will that hold true for the Soto-less Yankees?

Yes, they got to the World Series in his first and only season with the Bronx Bombers. But in Soto’s four full years with the Washington Nationals, they failed to make the playoffs in three of them — though they won the World Series in 2019. 

He was traded from Washington to the San Diego Padres midway through 2022, and the Friars went as far as the National League Championship Series that year before losing to the Philadelphia Phillies. In Soto’s one full season in San Diego, 2023, the club won just 82 games and finished two games behind the Miami Marlins for the final Wild Card playoff spot.

Juan Soto on the roster is no guarantee of what the fans, and players, all want the most — championships. The Yankees may find that they are better off without him.

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