With another mighty swing, Juan Soto continued his red-hot spring.
The new Yankees superstar slugged his third home run of spring training Sunday afternoon, crushing a first-inning no-doubter over the right field wall at Tampa’s George M. Steinbrenner Field.
The 405-foot solo shot against Detroit Tigers starter Matt Manning marked Soto’s fifth extra-base hit in his first seven at-bats of spring training, further fueling the hype around the Yankees’ marquee offseason acquisition.
Soto, 25, flirted with another homer in the fourth inning, sending a 311-foot fly ball to the left field warning track, where Detroit’s Justyn-Henry Malloy made a leaping catch at the wall. Soto added a sixth-inning single before being lifted for pinch-runner Greg Allen in the Yankees’ eventual 7-2 loss.
With Sunday’s 2-for-3 performance, Soto is batting .667 (6-for-9) with two doubles, seven RBI and those three home runs through four games. Sunday’s homer was the first this spring to right field for the lefty-swinging Soto, who previously demonstrated his power to all fields with blasts to left-center and straightaway center.
There goes that man. @JuanSoto25_ 💪 pic.twitter.com/19PuEsQrdn
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) March 3, 2024
Soto continues to bat second in the Yankees lineup, directly in front of the righty-hitting Aaron Judge, who primarily occupied the No. 2 spot from 2017-23. Soto, whose career on-base percentage of .421 ranks 19th in MLB history, can serve as a table-setter or benefit from the protection of the powerful Judge, whose 62 home runs in 2022 remain a single-season American League record.
The Yankees sent four pitchers, including Michael King and prized prospect Drew Thorpe, and catcher Kyle Higashioka to the San Diego Padres in the December deal that brought back Soto, hoping the former batting champion and three-time Silver Slugger recipient can transform an offense that finished 25th in runs last season.
Soto, an impending free agent due for a mega-contract next winter, is already demonstrating his ability as a difference-maker.
Also delivering an encouraging performance was Yankees starting pitcher Nestor Cortes, who improved on last week’s uneven spring debut with four innings of one-run ball Sunday. A first-inning solo homer by Detroit’s Andy Ibanez represented the lone hit against Cortes, who at one point retired nine Tigers in a row.
Cortes, 29, struck out three and walked one, throwing 36 of his 54 pitches for strikes while repeatedly hitting 93 miles per hour with his fastball.
“Other than that home run, everything was cruising,” Cortes said afterward on the YES Network broadcast. “I felt like I was throwing a lot of strikes and I was commanding a lot of pitches.”
The Yankees’ bullpen was far less effective, with newcomer Caleb Ferguson allowing two runs in 0.1 innings and Ron Marinaccio surrendering four runs without recording an out.
The crafty Cortes, a 2022 All-Star, hopes to return to form after a disappointing 2023 campaign in which he pitched to a 4.97 ERA and made only one start after May 30 due to a rotator cuff strain. Last week, the left-handed Cortes gave up two runs on seven hits over 2.2 innings against the Minnesota Twins.
A healthy Cortes would help fortify a Yankees rotation that’s led by reigning AL Cy Young Award winner Gerrit Cole and that added two-time All-Star Marcus Stroman in the offseason. Stroman, a Long Island native, hurled four scoreless innings against the Baltimore Orioles in Sarasota, Fla., on Saturday.
Lefty starter Carlos Rodón, who struggled to a 6.85 ERA during an injury-plagued 2023, is also seeking a resurgence.
Up next for the Yankees is a road trip to Jupiter, Fla., where Clarke Schmidt is scheduled to pitch Monday night against the Miami Marlins.
