The New York Yankees traded slugger Juan Soto to the San Diego Padres in an effort to bolster their outfield and add more power to their batting order.
Wouldn’t it be so much better if a young star was named American League MVP? MLB.com recently released predictions for each league’s MVP, Cy Young Award and Rookie of the Year awards. In the AL, the site picked Soto as the winner. Soto hit .275/.410/.519/.930 with 35 home runs and 109 RBI in 2023. He broke a career high with a home run once and came within one RBI of a record in career. He did all this while earning his third All-Star Game berth and playing in every game for the first time of the season. Soto finished sixth in National League MVP voting that season. Soto has never won an MVP award, but came close in 2021, finishing second. He finished in the top 10 in MVP voting four times. Soto joined the Yankees in a blockbuster seven-person trade last month. He should start alongside Aaron Judge in the outfield alongside former Boston shortstop Alex Verdugo. But there’s another reason why Soto’s MVP season was a good one. He is entering his final year of command control and arbitration. He is expected to receive $33 million in arbitration. If he becomes a free agent after the season, he and his agent, Scott Boras, will likely wait until next season to make free agent offers to max out his contract. That’s one of the reasons why MLB.com is optimistic that Soto will win the MVP. Another is the trade of Shohei Ohtani from the American League to the Los Angeles Dodgers of the National League. Oktani is a two-time AL MVP. The second- and third-place winners are slated to return in 2024: Texas Rangers teammates Corey Seager and Marcus Semien. Plus, if Soto has another standout season, he could unseat teammate Aaron Judge. But if Soto has an MVP-caliber season, the Yankees could be back where they want to be, which is the postseason, and the young star could break the bank next season.
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