Juan Soto, an MLB player who was just traded to the New York Yankees from the San Diego Padres on a one year deal.

Yama-Soto? Bellinger? Verdugo? What else?

On December 5, the New York Yankees had completed a trade with the Boston Red Sox for outfielder Alex Verdugo. The Yankees needed some left-handed batters and outfielders after their unexpected season, barely going above .500. Alex Verdugo is an outfielder who bats and throws left. He was a perfect fit for the Yankees, however, we needed more players on the younger side.

This is where Juan Soto comes in. Soto is a left-handed batter who plays left field. Not only that, but he made his debut when he was only nineteen. As of now, Soto is 24 and already hitting around thirty-five home runs a year. He is a great fit for the Yankees. Currently, the Yankees and the Padres have finalized a deal completing the trade of Juan Soto and Trent Grisham to the Yankees. The players that are on their way to San Diego are pitchers, Michael King, Jhony Brito, Randy Vásquez, and prospect Drew Thorpe. Catcher Kyle Higashioka, who has been a part of the Yankees organization for 15 years, was also traded in the deal. Sources say that Aaron Judge and Juan Soto might be the best offensive duo in the league. However, since the Yankees gave up four pitching positions, they need to spend a little money on people who excel on the mound.

To increase pitching this year, the Yankees hope to sign Japan native, Yoshinobu Yamamoto. After this year, the Yankees were on pace to win 120 games. After horrible outings from Carlos Rodón and Luis Severino, the team needs new people on the mound. Luis Severino was signed by the New York Mets, but we still have Rodón in the lineup. However, the 2023 Cy Young Winner, Gerrit Cole had a solid campaign throughout the 2023 regular season, but he was the only solid pitcher. Clarke Schmidt had on-and-off starts that gave him an 8-8 record. But, to increase the strength of pitching, GM Brian Cashman plans to meet with Yamamoto this upcoming Monday.

Cody Bellinger has lingered around the talks, but not a lot of leads have come out recently about him coming to the Yanks. Belli has been a Yankee fan since he was young, but the Yankees do not really need him. Yes, he is young, but he is right-handed and we already have so many outfielders. Some positive things about him are that he is a consistent hitter with a .307 batting average, 26 home runs and almost 100 RBIs. But, the idea of him wearing pinstripes in the 2024 season has become a cold case.

Photo via espn.com