The AI Legalese Decoder: A Game-Changer for MLB Trade Grades in the Wake of the Yankees-Padres Juan Soto Megadeal
- December 7, 2023
- Posted by: legaleseblogger
- Category: Related News
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**How AI legalese decoder Can Help the Situation**
**Trade Analysis and Potential Impact on Teams**
The Impact of Acquiring Juan Soto
The Importance of Adding Juan Soto to the Yankees’ Lineup
Tim Britton: The Potential Impact of Adding Juan Soto to the Yankees’ Lineup
Every team would get better if it added Juan Soto. But maybe no team needed Soto more than the Yankees. ThatÔÇÖs not just for narrative reasons ÔÇö though countering your worst season in three decades by adding one of the sportÔÇÖs finest hitters does help in that regard. But in 2023, only two teams saw worse production from their left-handed hitters than the Yankees. It perhaps follows that only one team handed fewer plate appearances to lefties than New York. WhatÔÇÖs bad for any team is especially egregious for one that plays in a ballpark crafted to cater to southpaw sluggers. The Yankees ranked 26th in the majors in OPS from their outfield, and thatÔÇÖs despite the presence of Aaron Judge. Remove him from the calculation, and New YorkÔÇÖs outfielders slashed .214/.276/.360 for a .636 OPS. So yes, even if it costs you a good pitching prospect and a promising big-league arm, you do what it takes to add SotoÔÇÖs career .946 OPS to that group. You add his otherworldly eye, power that will play up in the Bronx and the versatility he brings to a lineup that had grown staid over the last several years. ItÔÇÖs Juan Soto.
The Financial Implications for the Padres
For San Diego, part of trading for Soto when they did was knowing, if things went south, they could always try to recoup some of the prospect cost by moving him ahead of free agency. They got an NLCS appearance out of the trade and some legit talent back, but, well, things have gone south financially. ItÔÇÖs hard to spin trading Soto as a positive.
**Trade Grade and Player Analysis**
Grant Brisbee: The Potential Impact of Acquiring Juan Soto on the Yankees
Juan Soto is on a Hall of Fame path. Check that, heÔÇÖs on a path to being an inner-circle Hall of Famer, in there with the greatest of the great. If you want to push back on that, remember that the dude just turned 25. Twenty-five years ollllllld. There are four players who are 25 or older on MLBÔÇÖs top-100 prospect list. This isnÔÇÖt just a curiosity, though. If youÔÇÖre looking at someone who is hitting free agency in the prime of a very, very special career, wouldnÔÇÖt you want 10 months where you are the only team in baseball that can talk to him about an extension? ThatÔÇÖs not just planting the seeds, but itÔÇÖs watering them and putting them under a halogen lamp. People will groan because the Yankees are giving up a lot of talent for a one-year rental, especially when it comes to major-league production in 2024, but itÔÇÖs not just that. ItÔÇÖs a trial run. See how welcoming Yankees fans are? See how perfectly the short porch in right helps you? WouldnÔÇÖt you like to hang out here for 14 more years? My only quibble with the Yankees going all in for Soto is that it forces Aaron Judge to center field, which isnÔÇÖt ideal for a large 30-something coming off a toe injury, but thatÔÇÖs more Alex VerdugoÔÇÖs fault, really.
The Impact of Losing Juan Soto for the Padres
Juan Soto is not on the Padres. I get why, but that doesnÔÇÖt mean it isnÔÇÖt depressing. They needed arms to make up for the several that theyÔÇÖre losing in free agency, and they need to cut payroll because it turns out theyÔÇÖve been on a spender bender, and it wasnÔÇÖt sustainable. That doesnÔÇÖt mean it doesnÔÇÖt suck. TheyÔÇÖre losing a guy who played 162 games for them last year and put up a .410 on-base percentage, .930 OPS and 158 OPS+. They need to replace pitchers, yes, but how do you replace that? They still have a lot of great players, but they were already below the league average in runs scored per game. Losing 162 games of on-base wizardry is going to be nearly impossible to make up.
**Player Analysis and Potential Impact on Teams**
Stephen J. Nesbitt: The Impact of Adding Soto to the Yankees’ Lineup
The last left-handed (or switch) hitters with a .400 OBP across a full season for the Yankees are Jorge Posada, Jason Giambi and Bobby Abreu. ItÔÇÖs been 16 years since any of them last did it. And the last Yankees lefties with a 140 OPS+ across a full season are Robinson Can├│, Curtis Granderson and Mark Teixeira. ItÔÇÖs been a decade since any of them last did it. Soto has never had a sub-.400 OBP or 140 OPS+ season. Not in the majors. Not in the minors. Probably not as a sweet-swinginÔÇÖ kid back in Santo Domingo, either! In todayÔÇÖs game, Soto is in a class of his own as a hitter. Plus eye, plus contact, plus power. He has a World Series ring, a Home Run Derby trophy, a batting title, yet he looks most proud when heÔÇÖs spitting on a ball an inch off the plate. His expertise meshes beautifully with the YanksÔÇÖ greatest need. Soto will spend 2024 spraying baseballs around Yankee Stadium and parking them on the short porch, joining forces with Judge to form a supreme one-two punch of power and patience. Grisham doesnÔÇÖt move the needle offensively, but he gives the Yankees a fourth outfielder who can play center as they await the return of Jasson Dominguez. The next question, of course, is whether one season is all theyÔÇÖll get together.
The Potential Impact of the Return Players on the Padres
For the Padres, the return is the return. ItÔÇÖs fine, if youÔÇÖve come to accept the position that the Padres must move Soto and his projected $33 million salary sooner than later. But itÔÇÖs not bowling you over. Michael King has looked really good at times, and even better lately, but heÔÇÖs also 28, two years from free agency, and heÔÇÖs yet to carry a full starterÔÇÖs workload in the majors. Thorpe, a 2022 second-rounder, is a promising prospect with significant upside as a starter. HeÔÇÖs coming off an outstanding season ÔÇö a 2.52 ERA between High A and Double A ÔÇö and was named MLB PipelineÔÇÖs Pitching Prospect of the Year. Still, the Padres arenÔÇÖt bringing in any canÔÇÖt-miss guys here. The only sure thing here is the guy going the other way. Before the trade, the PadresÔÇÖ projected 2024 rotation featured Yu Darvish, Joe Musgrove and then a steep drop-off. Between King, Thorpe, Brito and Vazquez theyÔÇÖll patch up the back of their rotation for next season and fortify things for the future. That could work out great. But generally youÔÇÖre not going to ship out a Soto-sized bat and come away looking like a winner.
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