[ad_1]
NEW YORK — It’s been nearly 15 years since the New York Yankees won a World Series — an eternity in the Bronx — and the pressure to end the drought is mounting. That’s what happens when you acquire Juan Soto the winter before a walk year and he spends the summer raising his price with another dazzling season.
Soto and Aaron Judge, who recently called Soto the best hitter he’s ever seen, have become the franchise’s best one-two punch since Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig.
And yet the Yankees are 10-21 since beginning the season 50-22. The bullpen has been leaky after two strong months. The starting rotation has become inconsistent despite Gerrit Cole’s return from injury. Most notably, the lineup around Judge and Soto has cratered since Giancarlo Stanton strained his left hamstring on June 22.
“We need all those guys at the end of the day,” Soto said after the Yankees got production from throughout the lineup in a 9-1 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday. “It’s going to take more than two guys to go to the World Series and win it.”
Soto knows. Just days after his 21st birthday, he won a World Series with the 2019 Washington Nationals. Five years later, he’s on the brink of hitting the jackpot in free agency. His historic partnership with Judge could end after just one season.
The Yankees’ objective is to maximize their chances with Soto in pinstripes. So for the next week, until the clock strikes 6 p.m. ET on Tuesday, general manager Brian Cashman & Co. will scour the trade market for talent to improve a team still just 1½ games behind the first-place Baltimore Orioles in the American League East.
It’s unrealistic for fans, particularly in this year’s…
[ad_2]
