Even if the Yankees are fairly quiet on the free agency market this winter (their only significant signing was that of Marcus Stroman), they can still boast of having struck one of the biggest blows of the offseason with the trade that brought Juan Soto to the Bronx.
With Aaron Judge already in town, that means the Yankees will be banking on two guys who, purely in terms of batting skill, are possibly the two best hitters in the league. In any case, according to Marcus Stroman, Soto is the best in the league, period.
Obviously, the big question now is how Aaron Boone is going to put it all together. Judge is used to hitting second in the lineup, but the arrival of Soto changes things.
And while he was passing through Foul Territory yesterday, the manager of the Yankees got wet: at the moment, he foresees that Soto will hit second, just in front of the captain of the team.
Concretely, this is possibly the best combination, in the sense that Soto's discipline will allow him to get walks and put a runner on the trail for Judge. Otherwise, the threat posed by #99 could also force pitchers to be more aggressive towards Soto, who will have the opportunity to make them pay.
That said, it will still be an adaptation for the two guys, who had opposite roles in recent years. Judge feels comfortable at No. 2 in the lineup, while Soto was a regular at No. 3 in San Diego.
But in the end, Aaron Boone's bottom line is this: he knows he has a lot of versatility within his lineup. Guys like Gleyber Torres, Giancarlo Stanton, DJ LeMahieu, Anthony Rizzo, Alex Verdugo and Anthony Volpe can hit all over the lineup, which will provide opportunities.
Boone admits he's constantly thinking about his batting lineup. And when he relies on Aaron Judge and Juan Soto, we can understand it.
We'll see if the next few weeks cause Boone to reevaluate his position, but right now, we can expect Soto to be placed ahead of Judge in the Yankees' batting lineup.
And considering the strengths of both guys, it actually seems like the optimal option to me.