Losing Juan Soto stings, but in some ways, it's a blessing in disguise

A rival American League bench coach spoke by phone this past week regarding the Yankees' loss of Juan Soto to the Mets.

But he first had a question.

“How did they take it?”

The coach was told that the overwhelming feeling inside the Yankees' organization could be summarized by one word: “Relief.”

Not because  the Yankees felt they suddenly got better after losing Soto, considered by many the game’s most complete overall hitter. And not because there were any issues with Soto inside or outside the clubhouse. That was a place where he seamlessly fit in and, in many ways, became a leader because of his willingness and eagerness to talk hitting with all who asked (and there were a lot of them).

Starting pretty much from Day One of spring training, everyone from Aaron Judge to Giancarlo Stanton to DJ LeMahieu to Oswaldo Cabrera to Anthony Volpe — and many more — at some point took time to watch Soto in the cage and talk to him about his approach. That continued throughout the regular season.

No, the relief came from the understanding that inking Soto to the kind of deal required to keep him would give the franchise far less flexibility to address the many other holes on the roster needing to be filled for 2025.

With or without Soto, the Yankees need a first baseman, a third baseman, a leftfielder and bullpen help. If Soto had taken the Yankees' 16-year, $760 million offer, while they wouldn't have been done with their offseason work, it's highly unlikely that owner Hal Steinbrenner would have been keen on laying out any more big-money contracts this winter, leaving those roster areas to be plugged via some other way than cash.

Just as Soto, in the parlance of the day, is “one of one,” so too is Steve Cohen. The Mets' owner clearly  isn’t scared off by a payroll that exceeds $300 million, or even one that may well approach or even surpass $400 million by the time he’s done this winter.  (That is to his credit, as any fan of a professional sports franchise would want him to own their favorite team.)

The departure of Soto, who at best is considered average on defense, allows the Yankees to move Judge from centerfield back to rightfield, making them (depending on whom they get to play leftfield) an overall better defensive club in the outfield.

The AL bench coach listened to all that, and more, without interruption before speaking.

“Look, I totally get all of that. Totally. And I agree with it,” he said. “But I’m just giving you the perspective from the other dugout in real time. That dynamic with those two . . . there was nothing like it.”

He was referring to the Soto-Judge combination in the Nos. 2 and 3 holes in the lineup that wrecked many a game throughout the season. Judge had 58 homers, 144 RBIs, 133 walks and 122 runs scored; Soto had a career-high 41 homers along with 109 RBIs, 129 walks and 128 runs scored.

“You literally sat in the dugout with the thought, ‘When are those two [expletives] coming up again?’ ” the coach said. “Sometimes it seemed like they were coming up every freakin' inning. It felt that way. It was always on your mind. And I guarantee whoever was pitching, [on his mind] too. You couldn’t get away from it.”

That terror — and the coach said “terror” is not too strong a word — simply cannot be duplicated next season.

None of which means the Yankees won’t have a strong offense in 2025.

But there are pitfalls this offseason as the competition for talent seems especially fierce. The Yankees, for instance, were very interested in dealing for Astros outfielder Kyle Tucker, a lefthanded hitter who swings a potent bat and also is an excellent fielder and baserunner. But on Friday, Houston reportedly reached a deal to send the outfielder to the Cubs.

The Yankees have engaged the Cubs about one of their pieces — first baseman/outfielder Cody Bellinger, also a good lefthanded hitter with a good glove. Free-agent outfielder Anthony Santander, who hit 44 homers last season with the Orioles and who did his share of damage against Yankees pitchers during his eight years with Baltimore, is a player of interest, and that interest appears to be mutual. Santander is said to be intrigued by the idea of being a Yankee.

Without question, losing Soto opened up a slew of roster possibilities that wouldn’t have been realistic had the Yankees retained him, but they also can’t afford any big swings-and-misses when it comes to those acquisitions.

The notion of the Yankees being better offensively — and better overall as a team — without Soto is hardly far-fetched.

It just won’t be easy getting there.