Sebastián Vermut
Juan Soto in a Yankees Uniform.
After an MLB Insider reporter leaked a trade that included many Yankees players in exchange for superstars Juan Soto and Trent Grisham, the baseball world immediately took all attention off Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto. The trade for young Soto was a long-time goal of the Yankees, and it just took a disappointing season from both the San Diego Padres and the Yankees to incentivize the trade.
The trade involved five pitchers from the Yankees, including MLB’s No. 99 prospect Drew Thorpe. This trade immediately affects the Yankees' lineup, adding a much-needed lefty power hitter to take advantage of Yankee Stadium’s short right field, which gives lefties a huge advantage. Along with the new Alex Verdugo trade, the top of their lineup looks much more powerful than in previous years: Gleyber Torres, then Juan Soto, then Aaron Judge. MLB.com named this trio the 4th best in the major leagues. This new team is now one of the few that could compete with Ohtani and Bett’s LA Dodgers.
Now, what this trade means for the Padres is uncertain. After a huge disappointment of a season last year, the Padres must rethink their strategy. Free agent additions such as Cody Bellinger would still be possible after the severe decline in market cap usage. This trade is still bad news for the Padres as they have lost a Hall-of-Fame caliber hitter. This being said, the move is very beneficial to the Yankees. Their odds of winning the American League pennant more than doubled. As long as Carlos Rodon pitches the way we know he can, and the Yankees lineup stays healthy, we could easily see a pennant winning team. This team is unstoppable while healthy.
Comments