New York Yankees senior vice president and general manager Brian Cashman met with media members on Wednesday and spoke glowingly about what All-Star outfielder Juan Soto meant to the club across the first month of the season.
“Everybody knows he’s a Hall of Fame-caliber type player, right? He’s one of a kind in that way,” Cashman said, as shared by Mark W. Sanchez of the New York Post. “Only a few can be in that category. When you get those caliber or those types, you certainly hope that the transition is easy and it’s plug-and-play. And so far, the transition has been easy, and it’s been plug-and-play.”
Soto joined the Yankees from the San Diego Padres via a December trade and quickly left little doubt he could thrive while representing the storied club and playing home games in New York. He hit his sixth home run of the season in Wednesday’s 7-3 win over the Oakland Athletics that improved the Yankees to 17-8 on the campaign, and he posted a .319 batting average with 22 RBI and a .995 OPS across his first 25 games.
Perhaps just as importantly, Soto has erased any questions regarding whether he and team captain Aaron Judge can co-exist as superstars sharing a clubhouse. Soto has made sure to back Judge during the slugger’s slump that may be coming to an end.
Of course, there’s no guarantee Soto and Judge will be teammates past October. Soto remains on track to reach free agency after the World Series, is represented by big-name agent Scott Boras and is expected to reset the market this fall. Cashman confirmed on Wednesday he hasn’t yet had any meaningful extension talks with Soto’s camp.
“We’re really thankful and grateful that he’s here and he’s playing for us,” Cashman added about Soto. “He’s been a driving force for us. It feels like his personality fits the team, our fan base. It’s been a good run. And he’s obviously helped us hit that win column quite often so far.”
The Yankees reportedly will make signing Soto their “top priority” of the offseason, but team owner Hal Steinbrenner and not Cashman will have the final say on if the Bronx Bombers essentially hand the 25-year-old a blank check.
