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Yankees rumors: Gerrit Cole does his best to recruit Juan Soto

By Noah Yingling

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JULY 17: Gerrit Cole #45 of the New York Yankees reacts after the last out in the seventh inning against the Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium on July 17, 2022 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JULY 17: Gerrit Cole #45 of the New York Yankees reacts after the last out in the seventh inning against the Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium on July 17, 2022 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /
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Washington Nationals All-Star and 2022 Home Run Derby champion Juan Soto could be traded before the trade deadline. Yankees All-Star starting pitcher Gerrit Cole is doing his best to recruit him.

The Washington Nationals only have one representative in Los Angeles at the MLB All-Star Game: outfielder Juan Soto. He is one of the best of the 80+ representatives, though, since he is one of the best players in the sport.

Soto is hitting .250/.405/.497 with 20 home runs, 43 RBI, an MLB-leading 79 walks, and 17 doubles. In 2021, he was an All-Star, won a Silver Slugger Award, and came in second in NL MVP voting. He’s also only 23 years old.

But he has been in the news a lot recently since he turned down a contract extension from the Nationals. Reportedly, the outfielder turned down a 15-year deal worth $440 million. Since then, the Nationals are apparently shopping him on the market.

The New York Yankees and New York Mets are reportedly two teams that will battle it out for his services and Yankees starting pitcher Gerrit Cole is trying to do as much as he can to get Soto with the Yankees.

Yankees ace Gerrit Cole wants Juan Soto to be with the Yankees in the future

“You know where I really don’t want him going — I don’t want him going up to Boston,” Yankees ace Gerrit Cole told The New York Post. “But if he’s going to go, I want him to come to us.”

“I would hate to see him go to a team that we gotta play down the stretch,” Yankees star Aaron Judge said. “It’d be fun to see him be in New York or be wherever he wants to be.”

Soto himself acknowledged that things have changed a lot recently.

“A couple weeks ago, they were saying they would never trade me,” Soto said. “Now all these things have come out. It feels really uncomfortable. You don’t know what to trust. But at the end of the day, it’s out of my hands what decision they make.”

The Evil Empire would truly be back if they can get Juan Soto before the trade deadline but it will take a huge haul to get him.

Next. 5 All-Stars most likely to be traded by the trade deadline. dark

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