Earlier this week, the New York Yankees acquired slugging outfielder Juan Soto from the San Diego Padres in a major trade.
With Soto and Aaron Judge, the Yankees now have the best 1-2 punch in the American League thanks to this move. It will only be exceeded if Shohei Ohtani signs a contract with the Blue Jays.
After missing out on the playoffs in 2023, that part of the Yankees order will give American League pitchers nightmares all season long. This should give the Yankees a chance to return to the postseason in 2024.
It also puts the Yankees in a fun group of niche baseball history.
Per Sarah Langs of MLB.com:
with Soto, Stanton & Judge, the 2024 Yankees will be the 3rd team to have at least 3 players appear for them who had each won a HR Derby entering that year, joining:
2020 NYM: Alonso, Canó, Céspedes, Frazier
2005 NYY: Giambi, Martinez, Sierra
Soto prevailed in the 2022 Home Run Derby, but Judge won in 2017. 2016 saw Stanton win while he was a member of the Miami Marlins.
The Yankees organization’s upper management undoubtedly expects production from Judge and Soto, but Stanton is the wild card. With injuries, the former National League MVP had a terrible 2023 campaign, hitting just.191 with 24 home runs.
The Yankees, who placed fourth in the American League East, will try to build on their strong offseason debut by potentially signing Yoshinobu Yamamoto, a front-line starter, in free agency.
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