BT: Without Juan Soto, Yankees are like 2022 team

After watching the Yankees salvage the series finale against the Dodgers on Sunday, after Aaron Judge had seven hits and three home runs in the three-game set, Sal came away convinced that the presence of Juan Soto doesn’t dictate whether or not the Yanks can end their title drought.

“The Yankees are so good, they don’t even need Juan Soto to win it all,” Sal said. “Mainly because of Aaron Judge, but the Yankees don’t need Juan Soto.”

BT couldn’t disagree more, declaring that Soto’s absence gives the Yankees the look of a team they trotted out recently that was frustrating, feeble, and ultimately, not good enough.

“Without Juan Soto, it’s 2022. That’s the way I see it,” BT said. “It’s pretty much the same thing. DJ LeMahieu is still playing. They’re not getting much pop from the catcher position. Gleyber Torres is still part of the situation.

“This is a direct message again to Hal Steinbrenner…without Soto, the team goes nowhere.”

Sal believes this team is absolutely better than the 2022 group that made it to the ALCS, even if Soto’s injury news had been worst-case scenario.

“They pitch much better from top to bottom…obviously, they don’t have to worry about this right now,” Sal said. “But Judge is the key piece here. And they have Dominguez coming back, and Verdugo is a nice piece.”