Juan Soto's decision to head across town to the Mets in free agency was a difficult pill for most Yankees fans to swallow. Chances are, it's a decision that will haunt the Bronx Bombers for years to come. The silver lining to the dark cloud is that Soto has suffered through a bit of a slow start after his move to Queens.
Nothing about Soto's early season performance with the Mets should be cause for concern. He started his 2025 campaign with a slash line of .265/.410.408 with just a single home run. That doesn't change the fact that he remains one of the most feared hitters in all of baseball.
Soto is still giving the Mets real value with his patient eye at the plate. He's walking nearly 20 percent of the time. New York's offense is benefiting from his ability to get on base at a healthy clip in the early going.
The high-priced free agent is also putting the ball in play at a quality rate. He's only striking out on just under 12 percent of his appearances. Add all of that up, and it's easy to project an uptick in Soto's numbers as the weather begins to warm. No sane Mets fan is being plagued by buyer's remorse at this early stage in the regular season.
Yankees fans delighting in Soto's so-called struggles might be better off focusing on what his replacement has done. Ben Rice has seen a massive uptick in plate appearances due to Soto's depature and the mysterious injury to Giancarlo Stanton.
Ben Rice has been a great and much cheaper replacement for Juan Soto
The young left-handed hitter has significantly outplayed Soto to date. The catcher turned first baseman slashed .310/.490/.610 through his first 13 games of the year. He has five home runs on the year and has even chipped in two stolen bases to help give his offense a boost.
His stellar is a big reason why the Yankees' offense has thrived without Soto at the heart of the order. He's quickly becoming a player manager Aaron Boone can count on to provide protection for Aaron Judge in the middle of his everyday batting order. At the moment, pitchers are still trying to go after Rice with aggression early in the count. That should change if he continues his hot hitting for another week or so.
Of course, the Yankees don't need Rice to perform as a like-for-like replacement for Soto. The departed free agent is a legitimate MVP candidate. While GM Brian Cashman and his staff would love to see Rice ascend to those heights it's not a reasonable expectation or need.
They do need Rice to develop into an above-average offensive force wherever he plays on the diamond. Right now the bulk of his playin time is coming as Stanton's replacement at the designated hitter spot. That calculus will change assuming Stanton gets back to full health sometime during the middle of the regular season.
The obvious solution for Boone and his coaching staff will be to give Rice regular playing time at first base. That would give veteran Paul Goldschmidt some much-needed rest down the stretch. The long-term plan may very well be for Rice to take over the positon full-time next season since Goldschmidt is only playing on a one-year deal with the club.
It's also interesting to note that Rice came up through the team's minor league ranks as a catcher. He's barely sniffed any playing time at that position in the majors. It seems that the team's brain trust does not believe in his defense behind the plate. If that changes he could find his way into a little more playing time as Austin Wells' backup.
Being jilted by Soto is going to sting a prideful organization like the Yankees for a long haul. The early returns have not been disastrous though. It will be interesting to see if Soto's struggles and Rice's exceptional play both turn out to be blips over the maration of a regular season. The balance of power in the Big Apple could shift dramatically if either trend hangs around for a full year.