Yankees are doing just fine early in their post-Juan Soto season
Yankees’ Aaron Judge runs on his single against the Kansas City Royals during the first inning at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday, April 15, 2025. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
Losing Juan Soto just keeps getting better and better for the team he left behind in the Bronx.
Not only did the Yankees save themselves $765 million, as well as pocket the good PR from making such an exorbitant second-place offer that fell just short, they’ve quickly re-established themselves as one of MLB’s most dangerous lineups again — only minus Soto this time.
Jasson Dominguez, a key member of the Yankees’ next-gen crew, joined the party Tuesday night with a lead-fllipping, bases-clearing double in the sixth inning that ultimately decided the 4-2 victory over the Royals. For Dominguez, it was only his second hit this season from the right side (2-for-21) and delivered a career-high three RBIs.
The Yankees lead the majors with 32 homers, but won for the first time (1-4) without hitting one. They also rank first overall with an .829 OPS — well ahead of the second-place Diamondbacks (.789) — and their 103 runs through 17 games are the most since 2012.
No one in pinstripes would ever admit to being surprised by that level of performance. The Yankees still have a $308 million roster, and general manager Brian Cashman immediately went to work upgrading the offense before the ink was even dry on Soto’s contract with the Mets.
But to shrug off Soto’s defection to Flushing so easily, then hear him bemoan the fact that he no longer has Aaron Judge to protect him — as he did to the New York Post the other day out in Minneapolis — has to be doubly satisfying for the Yankees, who currently sit atop the AL East (10-7).
Judge was fully aware of Soto’s comments when approached at his locker. His first impulse, however, was to defend Pete Alonso — the homegrown slugger the Mets re-signed to protect the guy who’s supposed to be the franchise-changing investment.
“I’m not really going to go back and forth with this,” Judge said. “He’s got probably one of the best hitters in the game behind him right now with what Alonso is doing. It’s been fun to watch. He’s hitting close to .400 actually .356] and driving the ball all over the field, driving guys in, so they’re going to be just fine.”
Alonso and Judge are the two most prolific home-run bashers of the past seven years, and the Mets’ first baseman is off to a great start, with 20 RBIs and an 1.195 OPS. But as Soto pointed out, Alonso is not Judge — and neither is anyone else. In Soto’s defense, he carried the Yankees a year ago at this time when Judge sputtered for the season’s first month (.207 BA, .754 OPS) and that’s what the Yankees’ captain emphasized in regard to his former teammate’s frosty open.
“He can look at what I did last April for kind of an example,” Judge said. “He just needs to keep being himself. He’s going to be just fine.”
Based on Soto’s comments, Judge probably deserves a cut of the $765 million that Mets owner Steve Cohen ponied up. After all, Soto hit a career-high 41 homers with Judge’s protection, and his .989 OPS ranked third among his personal bests, a performance that earned him a third-place finish in the AL MVP voting.
Soto then bolted the Bronx, but the Yankees still have Judge, the two-time MVP, so it’s pretty clear who did better in the divorce. Judge has dealt with a rotating cast of hitters behind him — none of them named Aaron Judge — and a wide variety of injury-depleted lineups, yet remains the relentless engine of this pinstripe machine.
The Yankees are averaging 6.06 runs — trailing only the Cubs (6.32) — and their 32 homers through the first 16 games were the most in franchise history. As for Judge, there’s no April freeze this time, as he’s hitting .381 with a 1.224 OPS that leads the majors. His six homers are tied with nine others for the second-most in baseball, including teammate Jazz Chisholm.
“We’ve got the best player in the sport right in the middle of things and I feel like we have really capable people around him,” manager Aaron Boone said of his team’s explosive start. “We also feel like we have young, emerging players that we’re counting on to take another step in their development in their career.”
A prime example is Ben Rice, the No. 22 who now hits directly above Judge — and appears to be reaping the same benefits of the generational talent that was in that same coveted spot a year ago. Before Tuesday’s game, Rice, who has five homers, was fourth in the majors in slugging percentage (.680) and sixth in OPS (1.097) while his hard-hit percentage (.667) was tied with the Orioles’ Gunnar Henderson for first. Rice’s 96.1 mph average exit velocity sat in sixth place, right above Alonso (95.9). Judge ranked fourth (96.5).
“He looks like he’s been in the game for seven, eight years,” Judge said of Rice, now in his sophomore season. “He’s making adjustments at-bat to at-bat, the contact quality. Taking his walks when he needs to, which is a big part of being there in the leadoff spot. Kind of just being a complete hitter.”
Hmm. Sounds familiar. Recent history would suggest — with Rice, and Soto before him — that hitting ahead of Judge is a great place to be. But now that Soto is still getting familiar with his Flushing home, the Yankees are back to business as usual, and apparently not missing him at all.
David Lennon is an award-winning columnist, a voter for baseball's Hall of Fame and has covered six no-hitters, including two perfect games.
