Yankees' not having "Juan Soto hitting behind Aaron Judge" led to 2023 woes, says MLB insider predicting Pinstripes vs. Dodgers in 2024 World Series
The New York Yankees, spearheaded by Aaron Judge and Juan Soto, are among the favorites to win the 2024 World Series. However, some analysts and insiders are hesitant about the Yankees' chances, citing their 2023 campaign even though they had a strong lineup featuring Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Anthony Rizzo and others. Nonetheless, MLB insider Kevin Barker seems not to agree with the assessment.
On Monday's episode of Sportsnet's "Blair and Barker" podcast, Barker picked the Yankees and the Dodgers to face off in the 2024 World Series.
"If Freddie Freeman's healthy, they have three Hall of Famers in a row (Freeman, Mookie Betts, Shohei Ohtani. [Jack] Flaherty, [Michael] Kopech, and [Tommy] Edman, that they went out and got at the trade deadline ... those three guys sort of make up for the losses that they might have," Barker said of how Dodgers will negate their weakness in pitching. [1:23:36]
Barker pointed out the presence of Teoscar Hernandez in the lineup, claiming he would continue his regular season form into the playoffs. As for the Yankees, Barker highlighted the Yankees offense and pitcher Gerrit Cole.
"The Yankees have the best offense in the American League," he added. "Yankees, got the best starting pitcher [Gerrit Cole] in the sport, when he's healthy, and you’ve got the two best hitters [Judge and Soto] in the sport on the same team." [1:24:45]
Co-host Jeff Blair disagreed with Barker, pointing out that the Yankees may have the two best hitters in the league but not the best offense. Blair also pointed out that the scenario was similar in 2023, but the Yankees couldn't even make the postseason. Barker disagreed and pointed out the reason for the failure.
"They [Yankees] didn't have Juan Soto playing right field and hitting behind Aaron Judge last year," Barker said. [1:24:49]
The Yankees acquired Juan Soto and Trent Grisham from the Padres before the 2024 season in a blockbuster trade.
HOFer thinks pressure is less on Aaron Judge's Yankees to win the World Series
First Ballot Hall of Famer & World Series-winning pitcher John Smoltz appeared on "The Mayor’s Office with Sean Casey" podcast on Monday, where he was asked who has more pressure to win the 2024 World Series — the Dodgers or the Yankees.
According to Smoltz, the Dodgers have more pressure than Aaron Judge's Yankees. The Hall of Famer noted Shohei Ohtani's signing for a massive $700 million deal puts pressure on the Dodgers.
For the Yankees, Smoltz felt the pressure on them was not about winning the World Series but keeping Juan Soto. The Dominican becomes a free agent soon. His deal is predicted to be north of $500 million.
Retaining Soto should be a priority for the Yankees, as with Aaron Judge, the two are the consensus baseball's best "one-two punch."