NEW YORK — It was one of the rare times in Juan Soto’s career when he felt unsure.
As a budding star with the Washington Nationals, Soto was tight with Kevin Long, the team’s hitting coach. When Soto debuted in 2018, Long helped him become one of the best young hitters in the game. But when Long left the Nationals for the Philadelphia Phillies after the 2021 season, Soto had lost his guide.
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“Kevin Long was so good to me that when he left, it was tough to get another guy,” Soto said in the New York Yankees’ clubhouse this week.
But luckily for Soto, Pat Roessler was there as the assistant hitting coach to help soften the blow.
And luckily for the Yankees, they were able to bring in Roessler this offseason as their assistant hitting coach to aid Soto in what they hope will be the first of many seasons in The Bronx.
“He’s been helping me out big-time,” Soto said.
Roessler, however, said Soto deserves all the praise.
“He’s great,” Roessler said. “He’s so fun to work with.”
In the winter, when the Yankees were looking to hire James Rowson to take over as the team’s primary hitting coach, he asked Roessler — a 64-year-old whose career coaching in baseball began at Old Dominion University in 1983 — if he would consider joining him on the staff.
Roessler, a Phoenix native, started his pro career in the Chicago White Sox organization in 1988 and has served as the primary big-league hitting coach for the Montreal Expos and New York Mets. He’s also worked as a minor-league hitting instructor for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Houston Astros.
But Rowson knew Roessler best from their time together in the Yankees organization. Rowson served two stints as the club’s minor-league hitting coordinator (2008-2011, 2014-2016) and Roessler wore many hats with the team, including player development director.
In spring training, star Aaron Judge said he was excited to have Rowson and Roessler on board as coaches who “have been around the game for a while” and bring “a different type of energy, a different perspective.” Roessler also spent 2019 with the Yankees as a player development advisor.
And Roessler, in particular, has known Soto for a while. Roessler joined the Nationals’ hitting staff as an assistant in 2020, and he stayed when Long left and the Nationals brought in Darnell Coles to be the primary coach. Coles still serves in the role with Washington.
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But Soto had a bond with Roessler.
“He’s been right there,” Soto said. “He’s a grinder. He’s an old-school guy. I feel like everything that I do is, like, old-school mechanics. I feel like we’re on the same page. Really excited for him.”
Soto said that the pair grew especially close when Long departed Washington. Soto said Roessler helped him learn “how to focus on being myself.”
“We grew together a lot (in 2022),” Roessler said.
Soto, though, had a tough 2022. He hit just .214 through his first 70 games as rumors swirled that the Nationals might trade him at the deadline. On July 16 of that year, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reported that Soto rejected the Nationals’ $440 million offer.
But Roessler did his best to keep Soto’s spirits up.
“He always comes up with stories,” Soto said. “He’s like a grandfather. They always have cool stories and everything and they always try to make you smile. I think that’s why we have a good relationship.”
The Nationals eventually traded Soto to the San Diego Padres, where he also spent all of 2023 before the Yankees landed him in a blockbuster deal in December. Soto, making a record $31 million in arbitration this season, will be a free agent in the offseason. His agent, Scott Boras, has a history of seeking top dollar for his clients, and the chances of the Yankees signing Soto to a contract extension before he hits free agency seem virtually non-existent. Still, the Yankees hope to convince him to stay in pinstripes.
They have done their best to make Soto feel welcome. On the first day of spring training, manager Aaron Boone brought Soto into his office and told him he wanted him to be one of the leaders on the team. Soto has said Judge, Gerrit Cole, Anthony Rizzo and Giancarlo Stanton have made him feel like he belongs.
“We all feel like family right now,” Soto said this week.
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Roessler has been a big part of that. Roessler often works with Soto in the batting cage. Sometimes, he’ll offer tips. Sometimes, he’ll shut up, knowing Soto understands his swing as well as anybody he’s been around. Roessler said Soto knows that if he brings him a suggestion, it’s because “I’ve done my homework and I’ve looked at it.”
“I feel that he trusts me,” the coach said.
Asked what stands out most about Soto as a hitter, Roessler’s eyes light up.
“He has an unbelievable ability to take something he’s working on, make an adjustment and take it right into the game against major-league pitching,” Roessler said. “Not a lot of guys can do that and compete.”
“But every once in a while when we have something and we talk about something, he’s great. He’s got a great feel for when his swing is a little off or when he’s really locked in.”
And Soto “wants to win more than anything,” Roessler said.
“He’s a really good teammate,” the coach added. “He’s always pulling for his teammates. Even when he was scuffling a little bit sometimes, he’s always pulling for his teammates.”
Soto said he likes working with old-school types like Roessler because they keep it “simple.”
“They don’t really focus too much on the big things,” the slugger said. “They focus on the little things.”
General manager Brian Cashman and Boone each kept Soto in the loop in the offseason when they were trying to solidify hiring Roessler. When it finally happened, Soto was pumped.
“When you’re coming to a new place and you get to see or get to know new guys, or a new staff, you get to see another guy that’s going to help you out and help you go through all this stuff together. It’s very cool,” Soto said.
Ultimately, whether Soto is a Yankee for life may depend more on dollars than anything, and who could blame Soto? He’ll be 26 years old and he’ll have an opportunity at not just generational wealth, but perhaps one of the richest contracts in American professional sports history.
But bringing Roessler around will likely at least help Soto feel like he’s at home.
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(Top photo of Juan Soto: Dustin Satloff / Getty Images)