Yankees commentator is right about Juan Soto and the Yankees

The New York Yankees have a lot to work on this offseason, including deciding whether or not to offer Juan Soto something near the $700 million he’s seeking in free agency. Bombers radio color commentator Suzyn Waldman dropped her two cents on the matter recently, and she was right.

“[Juan Soto] is really something; what he is not, is a right fielder,” Waldman said on “Maggie and Perloff,” according to New York Post reporter Dylan Svoboda. “Are you really going to break the bank for Juan Soto and still have to put Aaron Judge in center field?… Everyone is so focused on Juan Soto. There are eight other positions on the field that you can’t fill right now … If you don’t fill those positions correctly you’re gonna replay this year.”

Waldman is spot on. The Yankees are worse defensively with Judge in center and Soto in either corner outfield position.

Judge posted a -6 outs above average (OAA) in 2024, which ranked him 40th among all center fielders in MLB, according to Baseball Savant. By contrast, he posted a -2 OAA in right field in 2023, good for 25th best in the league — not great but significantly better than his CF ranking.

Meanwhile, Soto is not a standout fielder. He was 37th in OAA in RF this year and 32nd in OAA in LF last year with the San Diego Padres.

Even with Soto’s incredible bat in the lineup, the Yankees still couldn’t score enough to win when it mattered. They managed just seven runs in the first three games of the World Series. Even if they didn’t fall apart defensively in Game 5, they had already dug themselves a hole that’s historically impossible to climb out of.

So, the money necessary to lock up Juan Soto would be more useful spread around to make the Yankees deeper. For example, they could target a slightly lower-level outfielder like Anthony Santander or Teoscar Hernández.

They could then go after third baseman Alex Bregman. Signing him would allow them to move Jazz Chisholm Jr. to second base, where he’s more comfortable, and improve offensively at the position. New York could then count on growth from youngsters Anthony Volpe, Austin Wells, Jasson Domínguez, and Ben Rice to round out the lineup.

There could be growing pains, but in time the Bombers will be stronger.

Soto leaving in free agency will feel like a loss to Yankees fans. But if New York makes the right moves, they could be better off in the long run without him.

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