By: Joe Cardoso
Well, Yankee fans, it was a blast while it lasted. Juan Soto, the most sought-after free agent this offseason, turned down all other offers and decided to go with our little brother, the New York Mets. The deal is unreal: 15 years, 765 million dollars, the richest contract in professional sports, and it has parents across the nation telling their boys to grab a bat and learn how to hit a change-up. A season that saw him and the Yanks make the World Series, and Soto built a relationship with the captain, Aaron Judge, that I thought might last for the next 5-8 years, but that was not the case.
In one season, he gave us so many heart-pounding moments and flipped the culture of the ball club, which in part helped us get back where we belong, which is the fall classic, like the game five bomb that sent us to the show and how amazing that at-bat was. He fought off pitch after pitch until he got “his pitch” and sent it into the Cleveland night. His numbers with the pinstripes are not to be laughed at and will go down as one of the best runs in recent Yankees history. One thing you have to say is he came to play every night and was a huge part of our success.
But after losing to the Dodgers, he had a choice to make and find a home; he has played for the Washington Nationals, San Diego Padres, and us, so it’s time to lock in. After being courted by the Red Sox, Blue Jays, and us, he picked our little brother, the New York Mets, and their flashy new owner. Now, as with most things in life these days, unfortunately, Yankee fans jumped on social media, bashing Soto, burning jerseys, and showing how hurt they are over this. In the end, the Mets were not going to allow him to get away and have a major overhaul growing.
Juan Soto has quite the resume at 26-years-old.
What else will he add to his resume with the Mets? pic.twitter.com/b6LQVttocR
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) December 9, 2024
I was upset for all of 20 minutes. Why? Because this ball club has holes, and that $700 million plus we had for Soto can go a long way in fixing this team and building us up for next season. Was Juan Soto going to play the in-field or pitch for us? Still, a lot of quality names out there who would look good in Yankee colors. Hal and company need to reset and also let the troops know all is not lost.
Grabbing a good name THIS week would be great to ease the minds of players and fans. But is that the right move? We should take a step back and see who wants to be part of what we have going. We are the New York Yankees damn it, people do not say “no thank you” to us. With a fresh approach, we could have a great baseball TEAM top to bottom with good players. A knee-jerk reaction could be a very bad move, think of some of the overpriced failures we have had in the past. We need to get more lefties and athletic players who can spark things up for the Bronx Bombers. We can grab 3-4 players and get after it.
Yes, it would have been awesome to have Juan Soto play his career with us, but that is not what happened. As a fan base and an organization, we need to get over it and wipe the board clean. Until I see them lift that World Series trophy, they will still be little brother to me.