Inside The Pinstripes

Ex-MLB All-Star Believes Yankees Are Better Off Without Juan Soto

One longtime MLB player thinks the New York Yankees losing Juan Soto was a blessing in disguise.

Grant Young

Dec 12, 2024; Flushing, NY, USA; New York Mets right fielder Juan Soto poses for photos during his introductory press conference at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images
Dec 12, 2024; Flushing, NY, USA; New York Mets right fielder Juan Soto poses for photos during his introductory press conference at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images / Brad Penner-Imagn Images
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December 8 was not a good day for the New York Yankees or its fanbase.

This is because former Yankees superstar Juan Soto signed with the cross-town Mets instead of accepting a $16-year, $760 million contract his former club offered.

However, this decision spurned a flurry of activity from the Yankees' front office, such as signing Max Fried and Paul Goldschmidt in free agency along with trading for Cody Bellinger and Devin Williams. In fact, there's an argument to be made that bringing these players to New York offsets what the Yankees lost when Soto chose the Mets.

Longtime MLB catcher and two-time All-Star A.J. Pierzynski shared this sentiment during a January 1 episode of "Foul Territory TV".

"They missed out on Juan Soto... I think they're a better team now with Fried, Devin Williams, and Cody Bellinger than they were with just Juan Soto," Pierzynski said. "Them missing out... it might be a blessing in disguise for the Yankees over the long haul.

"Yes, I know the Mets season tickets are through the roof... they should be. The Yankees season tickets are going to be through the roof, too, when you look at their starting rotation. They now have a lock-down closer, and they have a center fielder/first baseman in a guy that people know," he added.

"I think right now, if the Yankees do more, the Yankees are winning this offseason."

Even if the Yankees don't make any other additions this offseason, they're still a formidable force and will most likely start the 2025 season as the favorites to win the American League.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers the New York Yankees, the New York Mets, and Women’s Basketball for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco, where he also played Division 1 baseball for five years. He believes Mark Teixeira should have been a first ballot MLB Hall of Fame inductee.

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