I’ll also will miss Higgy. If/when designated as the starting Catcher, I think he will be better than average.

Offensively, Verdugo is a slightly below average hitter for a corner outfielder.

Anyone now pissed at Cashman for the Soto move?

I can’t wait to see the heart of the Yankee lineup this summer. Not saying it’s likely but if G manages to get on a hot streak, Judge, Soto, Stanton, Rizzo, Torres is a RLRLR banger.

“Nevertheless, Soto’s arrival in New York offers an opportunity to witness something unusual. Assuming Aaron Boone figures out that Soto should go in front of Aaron Judge in the batting order, we’re about to see the best on-base guy of his generation batting ahead of the best power hitter of his generation.

Personally, I think there’s been too much attention paid to how many home runs Soto could hit when confronted with Babe Ruth’s short porch in right field. Soto has plenty of power, but that’s not his game. He has never hit more than 35 home runs in a season, and has only broken 30 twice in six seasons.

On the other hand, Soto has drawn at least 130 walks in each of the past three seasons. The only other active player with three 130-walk seasons is Joey Votto, and by the time Soto makes his Yankees debut, Votto might be a full-time TikToker and not an active ballplayer. The only player with more 130-walk seasons in the expansion era is Barry Bonds: ”

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/juan-soto-is-going-to-score-a-bajillion-runs-hitting-in-front-of-aaron-judge/

But I still think somebody screwed him up with bad coaching when he came up. If the Volpe we saw coming out of AAA were to re-emerge and continue to mature, with his baserunning, it would become a possibility worth considering.

Also, on the YES broadcast last night, their proposed lineup had Verdugo leading off, followed by the order I included in the post above. Realistically, I could probably bat lead off and that group behind me would still be just fine.

[10] Everybody’s still projecting DJLM at leadoff, which seems like a scary big bet on a big bounce-back.

Soto’s OBP is intriguing at leadoff… but putting that SLG% in front of empty bases ~20 percent of the time would sting a bit.

Question is, who (among current options) jumps out at you to lead off?

First of all, the fans will love him. All of his antics in the batter’s box might rankle opposing teams, but I have no doubt that every kid in the Bronx will be doing the Soto Shuffle each time they take a pitch. (Speaking of kids in the Bronx, Oswaldo Cabrera already has own version, certainly inspired by his new teammate.)

I think what we really, really have to hope for is that he comes out of the box strong. The only way this can go sideways is if he hits .150 in April and the short-sighted folks in the stands start booing. But there’s really no reason to think he won’t hit at least 25 home runs in the Stadium alone. This will still be Judge’s team, but Soto will provide more than just offense. He’s bringing electricity.

Hopefully a year from now he’s looking back at the best season of his career. It won’t lower his price tag, but it’ll make it more likely that he wants to stay where he is rather than head off someplace new with unknown variables.

And Yamamoto? Yes, please!

He’s got a lifetime OPS+ of 157 and should benefit from playing in Yankee Stadium.

Hopefully, Yamamoto is next.

I’m giddy, but I still wish we had a better manager.

[2] I’m going to predict that Stanton is dealt for a bag of balls with the Yankees picking up most of his contract.

Imagine how pleased Aaron Judge must be.

Yamamoto as well would show that for as many flaws as the Yankee front office has, they are also committed to going and getting the best available players again sometimes.

The Verdugo move though…why?

I will miss watching King pitch, and I hope he does well in SD, but I’m not convinced he will hold up as a starter and when you can add Juan Soto it doesn’t matter!