Most teams can only dream of trading for a hitter as talented as Juan Soto. Most teams will never acquire a player on the inside track to Cooperstown, who may not have entered his prime yet.
The Yankees aren’t most teams. They’ve had the good fortune — the wealth, as well as more championships than any American sports team — to travel that route many times.
The need for Soto — a left-handed power hitter with unparalleled plate discipline and the highest on-base percentage (.421) of all active players — is obvious, following the Yankees’ worst season since 1992, in which they ranked 25th in runs.
The most similar batters to Soto through their age-24 seasons — according to Baseball Reference — are Bryce Harper, Frank Robinson, Andruw Jones, Giancarlo Stanton, Mike Trout and Ken Griffey Jr, who have combined to win nine MVP awards. Soto is also a proven postseason performer, most memorably hitting .333 with three home runs for the Nationals during their triumph in the 2019 World Series.
