The return to the Bronx for Juan Soto was not a pleasant one to say the least. Combined with his struggles at the plate, the reception he received from the home crowd was pretty loud, but not in the enthusiastic way.
In the three game series over the weekend, Soto went a combined 1-10 against his former club. Not the type of return you want to silence the boisterous crowd around you. His teammates couldn't get the job done either as the Mets dropped 2 out of 3 games to their crosstown rivals.
On the other hand, when the Yankees were unable to re-sign Soto to a lucrative deal he was expecting, they were awarded flexibility and used this to sign multiple players with the money that could've went to Soto.
There were multiple players who headlined this offseason for the Yanks including: Max Fried, Cody Bellinger, and Paul Goldschmidt. These acquisitions from this previous offseason for the Yanks are making a big impact on their 2025 success.
To start, let's talk about Max Fried. Fried had always been one of the top pitchers in the league with Atlanta, but since coming over to New York, he has posted a 1.29 ERA in his first 10 starts. Throughout every starting pitcher in the history of the Yankees, no one has ever posted this low of an ERA.
Fried recorded six dominant innings last night in the series finale against the Mets, including two strikeouts of Juan Soto as well. With Gerrit Cole out for the season, Max Fried has stepped up as the ace that the Yankees ever so needed this season.
Let's move on to Cody Bellinger. Currently he holds the longest hitting streak in the MLB at 13 games and has hit over .370 during this stretch. To cap off last night's game, Bellinger hit a grand slam in the bottom of the 8th over Juan Soto's head to pad the Yanks lead.
Not too long ago did Bellinger win the NL MVP during his tenure with the Dodgers. During this great stretch, Bellinger has started to look like his old self and exactly who the Yankees thought he was when they acquired him.
Another former NL MVP in Paul Goldschmidt is the current Yankees starting 1st baseman. After a couple of rough seasons with Anthony Rizzo, the Yankees felt it was best to move on. Acquiring Goldschmidt kind of got lost in the mix with all of the other big headlines surrounding the team.
However, what shouldn't get lost in the mix is his scorching hot start to the season. Goldschmidt has been absolutely raking to start the campaign with the third best average in all of baseball. He has been a flexible bat with his placement in the lineup and has provided New York with great production so far.
Although we are roughly 50 games into the 2025 campaign, the Yankees have not missed Juan Soto's presence all too much. The reinforcements they have brought in have made all the difference and look to continue to do so as the season carries on.
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