NEW YORK — Juan Soto smiled. Standing in front of his locker at Yankee Stadium in workout shorts and a T-shirt, he thought back to Dec. 7, the day he was traded from the San Diego Padres to the New York Yankees. At the time, he had a simple question: Where would he play? With Aaron Judge and Alex Verdugo manning the outfield beside him, he had an idea. So, the next day at St. Thomas University in Miami Gardens, Fla., he jogged out to right field to reacquaint himself with the position.
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“I wanted to be prepared,” he said.
So far, Soto has been that and more for the Yankees, who, in addition to benefitting from his prodigious bat, have seen him become something he’d rarely been throughout his otherwise brilliant young career: a dependable defender.
“It’s been good, getting used to (right field) again,” he said.
By the time the Yankees fell to the Seattle Mariners 5-4 on Monday night, Soto had gone 2-for-4 with a walk and two runs scored. His average had jumped to .316. Having played in all 48 of the Yankees’ games, he also had 11 home runs, and his 37 RBIs were tied for the fourth most in the game.
His offense was a huge reason the Yankees were 33-16, sitting atop the American League East.
But his defense? It might be one of the bigger surprises this Yankees season.
It’s not that Soto has been spectacular. He’s actually been middle-of-the-road, accounting for zero Outs Above Average, according to MLB’s Statcast, placing him within the 56th percentile in the game. Among qualified right fielders, Soto’s OAA output was tied for 11th best.
For the Yankees, that’s an outstanding outcome for someone who had accumulated a terrible minus-22 OAA since he debuted in 2018.
By comparison, Judge and Verdugo — considered above-average defenders — had hardly outperformed Soto. Judge, a center fielder, went into Monday with zero OAA. Verdugo, a left fielder, was at three OAA.
Outfield coordinator Luis Rojas, who’s also the Yankees’ third-base coach, had a theory.
“I think he showed up here with a goal,” Rojas said, “just wondering why he’d been below average in some categories defensively.”
Corey Julks lines out to right fielder Juan Soto.
Catch probability: 23%
Est. Distance Covered: 67.1 ft
Exit Velo: 95.4 mph
Launch Angle: 17 deg
Hit Distance: 290 ft#RepBX pic.twitter.com/0FgCXUVDe4— Catch Probability (@CatchProb) May 18, 2024
Soto has a reputation for being a stickler about his at-bats, spending countless hours in the cage in the offseason and throughout the year perfecting his swing. The Yankees even helped ease him into the Bronx by bringing in assistant hitting coach Pat Roessler, who was close to Soto when they were with the Washington Nationals. But Rojas said Soto had shown similar enthusiasm for learning the nuances of playing right field at Yankee Stadium in spring training.
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Rojas said he sat with Soto and reviewed video of his previous work in the outfield, identifying areas of improvement, such as with his pre-pitch movements. Rojas also credited the team’s analysts for helping corral the proper data to present to Soto, who wasn’t totally unfamiliar with the position. Though he had played left field in San Diego in 2023 — accumulating minus-9 OAA — he was a full-time right fielder in 2022.
Plus, Yankee Stadium offers much less ground to cover than most right fields in the majors, thanks to its short porch with a distance of 314 feet from home plate to the foul pole.
Rojas cited Soto’s work on the back fields of George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Fla., for much of his progress. Often, the Yankees would tape his workouts, and Soto would watch them back.
“He knows himself and understands how much better he can get,” the coach said.
Soto said throwing has been the most difficult part of transitioning back to right field, relearning the angles and the cutoffs.
His brightest moment with his arm so far this season likely came on Opening Day when he gunned down Mauricio Dubon with a one-hop throw in the ninth inning, preventing him from tying the score. The Yankees went on to win 5-4 and to sweep the Houston Astros.
Juan Soto throws out Mauricio Dubón at home!!!pic.twitter.com/QCGCLUkmmt
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) March 28, 2024
Rojas said Soto’s throws have improved but they remain a work in progress. Soto often will ask about the finest details of his throws: how the ball spins out of his hand, where his front foot is landing and whether he’s staying closed with his front side. His 84.4 mph average throw has also been about middle-of-the-pack, down a bit from his 86 mph average last year.
“He does take a lot of pride in his throwing,” the coach said.
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Soto said he’s particularly enjoyed playing in front of the Bleacher Creatures at Yankee Stadium.
Right before the first pitch of Monday’s win, he flipped a baseball a few times in his hands back and forth, turning toward sections of the crowd, teasing them with it. After he tossed the ball into the stands, he tipped his cap to the crowd.
Then he turned toward home plate, the smile gone, all of his focus on his steadily improving defense.
“He takes everything really seriously,” Rojas said.
(Photo: Jason Miller / Getty Images)