TAMPA, Fla. — Juan Soto’s locker is lodged to the left of Giancarlo Stanton. It’s a prime spot in the Yankees’ spring training clubhouse, located in a spacious corner of the newly renovated room, accessible from a few different corridors yet hidden enough that there’s some privacy.
All year, the Yankees will look to charm Soto, whom they fully expect to enter free agency after this season, in an effort to convince him to sign with the organization long term. Soto is baseball’s golden boy and the Yankees have the advantage this year, over the next nine months, to show him that he belongs in pinstripes. In that way, we can presume that the placement of Soto’s locker was also a strategic decision by the Yankees. They want Soto and Stanton to bond. Seven years ago, perhaps the Yankees would’ve preferred it if Stanton’s MVP magic rubbed off on Soto. But now? They’re better off wishing Soto’s influence on Stanton can revive the veteran’s career.
As close as their lockers are, there is an ocean between this juncture of their careers.
Soto is only 25 years old with the prime of his baseball career still well ahead of him. Stanton is 34, past his prime and battling injuries. Soto didn’t change anything this offseason; he’s sticking with the same approach at the plate that has served him remarkably well thus far. Stanton is changing everything; he showed up to spring training looking noticeably leaner and will showcase a different swing, too. Soto is the prodigy the Yankees want to keep in their lineup for the remainder of his career. Stanton is coming off his worst career season, fighting for a spot in the lineup with everything to prove.
Soto is the Yankees’ future, while Stanton represents their past.
“It’s really exciting,” Soto said of his first impressions of Yankees camp. “It’s really nice to be here, sharing a locker room with those guys. It’s just incredible.”
Even their dispositions on Monday, the first day of the Yankees’ full-team workout, couldn’t be more opposite. Soto arrived in Tampa wearing his usual, laid-back smile to go with a new “Generational Juan Soto” Yankees-themed T-shirt. The confidence and excitement emanating from the slugger was palpable, if not infectious. Meanwhile, Stanton showed up to spring training weighing significantly less, appearing a bit overworked from what was clearly a busy offseason, and wearing a chip on his shoulder. His smile was harder to find, with hopes of a resurgence resting in reformed training and preparation.
Even with Soto’s star power and a healthy Aaron Judge in the Yankees lineup, Stanton will face immense pressure to perform in 2024. The 2017 MVP winner and five-time All-Star posted an ugly 87 OPS+ last year while battling an early-season hamstring injury across 101 games and 415 plate appearances. The Yankees still owe Stanton $98 million over the next four years, but his playing time could disappear soon if he doesn’t produce.
“This is where he should be playing at, at this point in his career,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said of Stanton’s trimmed physique. “Even if you go back to his MVP season, I think this is more in line with where he was, size and weight wise. It’s probably better, especially with some of the things he’s dealt with from an injury standpoint, and being north of 30 years old, to play at a lighter weight.”
Out of a possible 870 regular-season games Stanton could’ve played with the Yankees, he’s appeared in 549 (63%) across six seasons in the Bronx. His uptick in injuries even led Yankees general manager Brian Cashman to publicly criticize Stanton at the onset of this offseason. Cashman said Stanton getting hurt seems to be a part of his game. Whether that comment spurred Stanton’s aggressive offseason training schedule is unclear.
“He knows my reaction to that,” Stanton said Monday in front of his locker.
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He was cagey when discussing the changes he made this offseason, keeping the finer details to himself while revealing that “everything” about his training program was different. He focused on running more than he ever had before. Stanton’s sprint speed ranked in the fourth percentile last year, per Baseball Savant, a huge drop from his 70th percentile mark in his MVP season. When asked if this winter was the hardest he’d ever trained, Stanton clarified it’s the one that’s featured the most changes.
“[I want to] be a baseball player again,” he said. “It’s been the first fully healthy offseason in a long time.”
In 2024, being a baseball player again might exclusively mean being the Yankees’ designated hitter. They have Alex Verdugo, Judge and Soto as their everyday outfielders. Boone said he wants to give Judge some at-bats from DH to rest his legs. When Judge isn’t on the diamond, defensive ace Trent Grisham is expected to take his place in the outfield. That leaves Stanton at DH or on the bench, with the latter the most likely outcome if he can’t bounce back.
“I don’t get paid to be a stand-up guy or say the right things,” Stanton said. “I’m here to produce and help us win a championship. That hasn’t happened and needs to. Noise, back and forth, whatever. It needs to be done. I don’t listen to noise. I understand the facts.”
OK, but remember those lockers? Stanton having a huge year would better fit into the Yankees’ plans for 2024, of course. The Bronx Bombers are a much scarier team when Stanton is consistently slugging. A return to form would also help the Yankees show Soto why he belongs in New York. Stanton provides more lineup protection when he’s healthy and hitting. If his lighter weight does increase his agility and mobility, that could (perhaps?) allow him to play in the outfield more, which could afford Soto opportunites to get off his feet and just be a DH.
There is a world in which Stanton just unlocked the code to a longer and more successful career by trimming his weight and changing “everything” about his offseason routine. If that is the case, Soto will be that much more encouraged by the state of the Yankees’ roster and organizational talent. For the Yankees, for the rest of this year, all roads lead back to the young superstar, and making him comfortable in pinstripes and inclined to spending his peak years in the Bronx. Stanton looking more like Stanton will make for a completely different, more improved, look and feel to Soto’s summer in the Big Apple.
“It’s going to be electric,” Soto said of playing in New York. “It’s going to be fun. A lot of Latin communities over there. So, it’s going to be really, really exciting. It’s going to feel like home. I’m more than happy to play there.”
Deesha Thosar is an MLB writer for FOX Sports. She previously covered the Mets as a beat reporter for the New York Daily News. The daughter of Indian immigrants, Deesha grew up on Long Island and now lives in Queens. Follow her on Twitter at @DeeshaThosar.
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