New York Yankee fans were understandably quite upset to see Juan Soto sign with their crosstown rivals, the New York Mets, this past offseason. But according to Clay Bellinger, the father of Cody Bellinger, the Yankees actually ended up making out better than the Mets did in letting Soto go.
Soto has struggled at the start of his first season with the Mets, hitting for just a .224 batting average in 55 games played this season thus far. Not exactly what the Mets had in mind when they inked him to a 15-year, $765 million deal back in December.
Meanwhile, the Yankees used that money to bring in a litany of players to help their roster overall. This list of players includes Max Fried, Cody Bellinger, Paul Goldschmidt, and Devin Williams.
Fried has been the player who has flashed the most upside of the bunch since signing with the Yankees, sporting a 1.29 ERA, the best ERA of any pitcher in baseball. But both Goldschmidt and Bellinger have also been valuable additions to the Yankees’ formidable lineup.
Speaking with TMZ Sports recently, Clay Bellinger outlined how getting “three or four guys” for less than the price of Soto was a wise move for the Yankees that he believes was a “no-brainer”.
“You’re getting three or four guys instead of one,” Clay Bellinger said. “It ended up being a no-brainer. For me, anyway.”
Considering his son, Cody Bellinger, was one of the players who came in because Soto signed with the Mets, it’s natural for Clay to feel the way that he does about things.
But there certainly is some validity to what Clay is saying here. The Yankees got deeper and overall more complete this past offseason, while the Mets got a player in Soto that has been servicable, but a bit of a distraction given the media attention given to his struggles compared to his expectations.
There are plenty of years to come that will ultimately determine who was the winner in the Yankees losing Soto to the Mets. But at least in the short term, the Yankees seem to not be missing Soto all that much.
