After Juan Soto cranked three home runs on Tuesday night, Sal opened Wednesday’s show by applauding the Yankee superstar for somehow exceeding expectations in his first season in New York.
“It is rare for players to live up to the hype, and there was a ton of hype when the Yankees made the aggressive, brilliant move trading for Juan Soto,” Sal said. “He has come in here and been even better than the highest of expectations. The Yankees deserve a ton of credit for making that move.”
While Sal credits the Yanks for making the move to get Soto, he has been critical of the front office not acting like the Yankees of old in recent years, and pointing to luxury tax penalties and payroll more so under Hal Steinbrenner than when George was running the team. He believes that mindset, and Soto’s incredible season, is what could lead to Soto not returning in 2025.
“Every home run this guy hits…the price goes up. Honestly, he’s pricing himself out of the Yankees,” Sal said. “They know this is gonna be a ridiculous price. I’m not sure they would go to those extents.”
While Sal has questions about the Yankees’ financial commitment to keeping Soto, he says the organization simply has to do whatever it takes to keep their new star, who has proven he can thrive in New York.
“The Yankees have Juan Soto right now. He is producing at a ridiculous level…they have to keep him,” Sal said. “The Yankees are not in a position where they can let Juan Soto go and survive.
“He’s been so great, he’s backing them into a corner that whatever the ridiculous price may be, they have to pay it to retain Juan Soto. You cannot lose this guy and do that to the fanbase.”