The New York Yankees have lost their lead atop the American League East division, but they are still one of the top teams in the league, and they appear to have a real shot at making a World Series run this season. And yet, for all the success the team has enjoyed, it’s clear there is still a void that this team is trying to fill in the aftermath of Juan Soto‘s decision to bolt for the New York Mets after the 2024 campaign.
Soto only spent one season with the Yankees, but he helped them find their way to the World Series, where they ultimately lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers in five games. For the most part, New York has managed to find a way to piece its lineup together without Soto, but as one anonymous player recently revealed with four succinct words, his absence is still felt on this team.
Juan Soto’s Absence Still Weighs Heavy on the Yankees
New York traded for Soto from the San Diego Padres ahead of the 2024 season in what was viewed as a rather risky move. Soto was entering the final year of his contract, meaning that there was a real chance he would hit the open market and depart in free agency after just one season in town. Sure enough, that’s what Soto ended up doing.
Before he did that, though, Soto enjoyed arguably the best season of his career while teaming up with Aaron Judge at the heart of the Yanks’ lineup (.288 BA, 41 HR, 109 RBI, .989 OPS). When he left, though, the Yankees suddenly had a huge hole at the heart of their lineup. Sure, Judge was still in town, but the amount of protection he was blessed with in 2024 was suddenly gone.
New York has managed to piece things together, thanks in large part to the signing of Cody Bellinger, but this season at least, it’s largely been the pitching staff that has carried the team to victories. So while the Yankees are still rolling, one player admitted that, even with all the success the team is enjoying, Soto’s departure still looms large over this group.
“Over the past several days, I asked a few people around the Yankees if, two years later, they believed the club was better off without Soto — and with the players who were acquired instead,” Chris Kirschner of The Athletic wrote. “The general response was that it was a difficult question to answer, particularly because of Soto’s importance in helping the club reach its first World Series since 2009. ‘He’s impossible to replace,’ one player said.”
Can the Yankees Win a World Series Without Juan Soto?
GettyCLEVELAND, OHIO – OCTOBER 19: Juan Soto #22 of the New York Yankees celebrates after hitting a home run in the 10th inning against the Cleveland Guardians during Game Five of the American League Championship Series at Progressive Field on October 19, 2024 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
Soto was the perfect complement for Judge in the Yankees lineup, because it forced opposing pitchers to make tough decisions. You couldn’t afford to simply pitch around Judge because of the threat of Soto, and vice versa. Again, a guy like Bellinger is a great fit, but he’s not the same caliber of player that Soto is.
We’ve already begun to see the lineup struggle to consistently score runs, and if the pitching staff can’t blank the opposing team’s lineup, things go off the rails quickly. New York has proven that it can go on a deep playoff run, but doing so without Soto is going to be a lot more difficult, especially if the pitching staff begins to regress to the mean.
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