Soto joins outfield mate as ASG starter
In pairing Aaron Judge and Juan Soto, the Yankees envisioned a starry top of the lineup and outfield.
Those dreams have become reality, and the pair are officially stars.
Soto has joined Judge, who already had clinched his sixth AllStar trip, as a starter for the American League in the July 16 All-Star Game at Globe Life Field in Texas. The two are the only starters for the Yankees, with pitchers and reserves set to be announced Sunday.
Judge already had wrapped up his spot in the Midsummer Classic as the AL’s leading vote-getter in Phase 1 of the voting, riding 3,425,309 votes to the nod. The third American League outfield starter is Cleveland’s Steven Kwan, who beat out Houston’s Kyle Tucker.
Soto’s fourth (and fourth straight) All-Star Game nod will be his first on the American League side, after cracking the roster with the Nationals and Padres the past three seasons.
For the first time, though, Soto will be a starter.
“It means a lot,” Soto said about the honor. “It’s a lot of hard work that I’ve been putting in … been grinding a lot.”
What’s it going to be like to look over and see No. 99 to his right?
“It feels great,” Soto said. “He’s an All-Star, an amazing baseball player. More than happy to share the field with him. Now in an AllStar Game, it’s going to be even better.”
In his first 84 games with his new club, Soto has posted a .997 OPS with 20 home runs and a major league-leading 74 walks. He has been everything the Yankees could have wanted after the blockbuster trade with San Diego.
“He’s a generational hitter — we’ve seen that kind of phrase thrown around him, and I think that rings true,” manager Aaron Boone said before the 3-2 loss to the Reds in The Bronx in which Soto reached base three times. “His level of at-bat day in and day out [stands out]. And then when you pair it with him and Aaron back-to-back, that’s something that I don’t think many of us have ever seen.
“It’s just as quality of an at-bat as you’re going to face anywhere at any time, and just his understanding of who he is in the batter’s box is pretty impressive.”
This will be the second time in three years the Yankees have had two outfielders start the All-Star Game after Judge and Giancarlo Stanton earned the honor in 2022.
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In the absence of Stanton, Jones got another start at DH against an opposing lefty and went 1-for-3 with a double and a run scored.
The righty swinger is 6-for-18 with a home run, a triple and now a double against southpaws.
took ground balls at third base before the game. The infielder, sidelined since suffering a left calf strain May 24, is closer to a rehab assignment.
The Yankees recorded their 10th sellout of the season with a paid attendance of 47,646. Their average of 41,051 per home game this season is the most in the AL and second-highest in the majors.