After a disappointing 82-win season, the New York Yankees had to make some sort of big change this offseason. They ended up making one of the biggest changes in all of baseball by landing superstar outfielder Juan Soto in a blockbuster trade with the San Diego Padres.
Just four days into the season it is already apparent that he is just what the Yankees needed, and that he has a chance to completely change their entire outlook for the 2024 season.
Soto played a key role in helping the Yankees complete a four-game sweep against their long-time nemesis, the Houston Astros.
That included Sunday’s game where Soto drove in the game-winning run in the top of the ninth inning to complete a 3-for-5 day at the plate and wrap up an incredibly impactful debut series in the pinstripes.
For the series, Soto went 9-for-17 at the plate with three walks, a double, a home run and four RBI.
It was not just the overall numbers that were important.
It was also when and how he produced them.
In the Yankees’ season-opening come-from-behind win he reached base three times and then showed off his rocket for an arm by throwing out the potential game-tying run at home plate in the bottom of the ninth inning.
In the second game, he added three more hits and drew a bases-loaded walk in the seventh inning to drive in the eventual game-winning run.
He followed that on Saturday by hitting his first home run as a Yankee in the seventh inning to break what had been a 3-3 tie.
Then on Sunday, he had his three hits including yet another game-winning RBI in the top of the ninth inning.
Just think about all of those moments and what they represent. In three of the games he literally drove in the game-winning run in the seventh inning or later, and in the other game he threw the game-tying run at the plate in the ninth inning. It would be nearly impossible to have a more clutch series of games than that.
It is so important for the Yankees to have a player like that in their lineup because so much of their success or failure in the past couple of years has centered around Aaron Judge. Judge was the one consistent game-changer in the lineup, and if he did not play or was ineffective the Yankees had almost no chance of winning. They were essentially a one-man lineup for two years.
That is no longer the case with Soto in the lineup. With Soto and Judge hitting back-to-back in the No. 2 and 3 spots in the lineup, the Yankees might have one of the most intimidating duos in the league. Judge has not yet started to get rolling this season, and it has not mattered at all because of the way Soto has picked up the slack. When Judge gets going the Yankees might really be on to something here.
While most of the attention will be on Judge and Soto (and rightfully so), the Yankees are more than just those two men. In the outfield, Alex Verdugo is proving to be a valuable asset for the team. His timely hitting and solid defense gives New York a much, much improved outfield.
In the infield, the Yankees retained most of their core from last season. Anthony Volpe, Gleyber Torres, Oswaldo Cabrera, and Anthony Rizzo keep their usual roles, with Gerrit Cole and DJ LeMahieu set to return from an injury as well. They’ve been solid so far, contributing to the team in different ways.
New York is hoping that this performance continues for the rest of the season. You can always count on Aaron Judge and Juan Soto to be excellent, after all. It’s up to their supporting cast to give them that extra push to win it all. It seems the Yankees have finally found the missing piece to their World Series puzzle – Juan Soto!
