Derek Jeter has called for the Yankees to go all out for San Diego Padres slugger Juan Soto, as New York’s offense is faltering with Aaron Judge still on the sidelines.
The 49-year-old Fox Sports analyst brought up the trade proposal while sitting along side Alex Rodriguez and David Ortiz during the broadcast of the MLB All-Star game on Tuesday.
‘I do believe the San Diego Padres could get hot and really make some waves in the National League West,’ said Jeter, who was once a co-owner of the Miami Marlins until 2017, three years after his final season with the pinstripes.
‘But if they don’t, I wouldn’t mind seeing the Yankees go out and get Juan Soto. You don’t know how long Judge is going to be out, they need some offense, I think it makes sense.’
The five-time World Series champion and baseball Hall of Famer added that he’d allow Soto to play ‘wherever he wants’ in the outfield.
Derek Jeter is pleading for the Yankees to bolster their offense by going all out for Juan Soto
Juan Soto, of the San Diego Padres, has hit 15 homers & holds a .265 batting average this year
The Yankees are facing a make or break second half of the season as they sit in fourth place of a competitive AL East with a 49-42 record, though they are just a game outside of a contested wild card spot, currently occupied by the Toronto Blue Jays.
A player of Soto’s caliber could re-invigorate the Bronx Bombers’ season, though he wouldn’t come to the Big Apple without a hefty trade package involved.
The Yankees’ offense ranks 19th out of 30 MLB teams in the league in runs scored and 26th in on-base percentage.
Judge has been on the team’s injury list since June 3, when he hurt his right toe. Since then, the Yankees offense has gone into a downward spiral.
Soto, on the other hand, is continuing to hit the ball out of the park this season.
The 24-year-old is averaging .265/.419/.479 with 15 home runs though the Padres are four games below .500 with a 43-47 record.
The Yankees’ offense currently ranks 19th out of 30 MLB teams since Aaron Judge’s June injury
San Diego, just like New York, sits fourth place in its division and six games behind the San Francisco Giants in third.
If the Padres decide to give up Soto – their star asset – then they would want a similar trade to the one agree upon with the Washington Nationals to last year for Soot.
Mackenzie Gore, CJ Abrams, and James Wood III were thrown in the deal, as well as three other players, drawing comparison to the Herschel Walker trade in the NFL.
Following Jeter’s bold request on the broadcast, Ortiz said he would like to see his former team, the Boston Red Sox, acquire Shohei Ohtani.
‘We need batting and we need pitching but we only got room for one guy,’ said ‘Big Papi.’ ‘Just give half of the team, I don’t care.’
