Juan Soto, the latest addition to the Bronx Bombers

The 25-year-old Dominican arrives in New York with outfielder Trent Grisham in exchange for five players.

Juan Soto, el nuevo artillero de los Bombarderos del Bronx | ZUMAPRESS.com / Cordon Press

Published by

7 de diciembre, 2023

Topics:

Bronx

The Yankees had been clear for a long time: they wanted Juan Soto, one of the most productive hitters in the world, in pinstripes. That wish became a reality, as the team pulled off a mega-trade with the San Diego Padres that was the talk of the winter meetings at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center in Nashville, Tenn.

"The 25-year-old Soto comes to New York with outfielder Trent Grisham in exchange for five players: right-handers Michael King, Drew Thorpe, Jhony Brito and Randy Vásquez, plus catcher Kyle Higashioka. MLB Pipeline ranks Thorpe as the No. 99 prospect on their overall Top 100 list, while Vásquez was the Yankees’ 13th-ranked prospect," Major League Baseball (MLB) reported.

Meanwhile, Aaron Boone, the Yankees' manager, maintained that Soto is one of the league's best hitters and highlighted that at his young age, Soto has managed carve out a great career.

"He's as good an offensive player as there is. ... He is a machine offensively -- on base, power, and has accomplished a ton already at a young age," Boone said.

Successful season for Soto

The MLB highlighted Soto's statistics. The Dominican player recorded batting splits of .275/.410/.519, with an OPS+ of 158, participating in all 162 games for San Diego last season. During that period, he managed to hit 35 home runs, 32 doubles, a triple and accumulated 109 RBIs. In his career, Soto averages remarkable .284/.421/.524 splits, totaling 160 home runs and 483 RBIs in 779 games.

A three-time All-Star and four-time Silver Slugger, Soto led the Majors with 132 walks, finishing sixth in the National League MVP race.

Likewise, the MLB specified that the trade of a player of this quality on two occasions before starting his age-25 season is unprecedented in the modern era of baseball. It is practically unheard of that such a talented and young player has been part of so many teams: "Soto will become just the sixth position player to have accrued at least 20 career WAR through his age-25 season and played for at least three teams, and the other five all played before 1900."

Lauded by [Yankees GM Brian] Cashman as a “transformational bat,” Soto is entering his final year under contract before free agency, which prompted San Diego to place him on the trade market.

The Dominican, the MLB recalls, rejected a 15-year, $440 million contract from the Nationals in July 2022. "Though the Yankees will certainly attempt to sign Soto to an extension that would secure him a place as one of the club’s highest-paid players, agent Scott Boras has historically guided most of his players toward the open market," MLB highlighted.

Boras pointed out that "when you’re a great player, you’re a professional, and you always hope that wherever you’re at, you have a chance to win and a chance to play well."

To date, Soto has played only seven games at Yankee Stadium, though his performance has been stellar in that small sample size. Soto is 6-for-23 (.261) in the Bronx with a double and four homers, driving in nine runs while compiling a 1.219 OPS.