The New York Yankees haven't really missed a beat since losing Juan Soto, which is easier said than done. Brian Cashman executed a bold fallback plan, ripping off big trades and hammering the right short-term bets in free agency. With Aaron Judge on the MVP track yet again, the Yankees look like favorites to come out of the American League.
That doesn't mean Soto's departure didn't sting; just look at how he was treated upon his return to Yankee Stadium. Not only did Soto leave a historic contract on the table after finishing runner-up in the World Series, but he left for the New York Mets, of all teams. Steve Cohen has the deepest pockets in baseball and has made it his life's mission to deliver a winner to Queens. It feels like the Yankees' little brother franchise isn't so little anymore.
How hard Judge did (or didn't) attempt to recruit Soto last winter was a huge storyline in the moment. The Yankees superstar recently opened up on his pitch to prospective free agents, and while it sounds great on paper, it's clear it did not land with Soto — assuming it was even made to Soto.
For more news and rumors, check out MLB Insider Robert Murray’s work on The Baseball Insiders podcast, subscribe to The Moonshot, our weekly MLB newsletter, and join the discord to get the inside scoop between now and the MLB offseason.
Aaron Judge's Yankees free agency pitch was not enough to retain Juan Soto
"I try to talk to everyone, the guys who aren’t Yankees," Judge told USA Today, “and tell them just how special this franchise is. And how special it is to play in front of these fans."
It's a timeless pitch. Free agents have been seeking out the Yankees for decades due to their unmatched organizational prestige and unique stature in the sporting world. The Yankees are more than New York's team. So much baseball history runs through the Bronx. It helps that ownership wields a big wallet and Judge, a perennial MVP candidate, is there to motivate the next generation of future Yankees.
That was not enough, however, so Soto to take a negligible discount to re-sign with the Yankees after a World Series appearance. The Mets' top offer of $765 million was, well, the top offer, but we know the Yankees weren't far behind. If Soto was compelled by the allure of history and the chance to bat in front of Judge for the next decade-plus, he could've re-signed in the Bronx and still become the highest-paid player in American sports history.
But Soto wanted the money — and perhaps, a bit more freedom and preferential treatment. We've all seen the reports of how his family and friends were neglected by the Yankees, how Soto was never 100 percent content there. Most of those have been refuted or at least pushed back on by Soto himself, but it feels like there was a disconnect with the Yankees. Enough for him to leave an optimal situation to blaze a new trail with a far less established powerhouse in Queens.
Did Judge do enough to recruit Soto specifically? He famously said he was giving the 26-year-old space to make his decision. This debate may never been fully settled, as we won't know the exact inner perspectives of Judge and Soto, but the Yankees are without a generational talent because Judge's pitch — whatever it may or may not have been — was not enough. That is the reality we live in.