Juan Amazing Christmas Gift

Use whatever phrases you must to explain what happened to the Yankee Universe this week but it all comes out the same. Pushing all your chips in, making a statement or whatever other fun sayings fans and media will use can be interchanged, but one thing is for certain ... The Evil Empire is back!

As if they took a page right out of George Steinbrenner's book, Brian Cashman, Hal and company showed the world who the Yankees are, and why they earned that Empire moniker in the past. While teams scrambled for Ohtani, Bellinger and the like New York was busy making a trade for a 25-year-old dynamic outfielder in Juan Soto.

Soto checks every box for the Bombers. His age is as appealing as his bat speed. Soto is a left-handed bat, who can protect Aaron Judge, something they have needed for years. He is also just the hitter that harkens back memories of the dynasty Yankee teams because he simply gets on base. His on base percentage is already legendary. He has a higher OBP than Stan Musial, Joe DiMaggio, and Frank Thomas to name a few. A better OPS+ than Mays, Aaron and others, and now sits in front of one of the best run producers of this generation.

Going on and on about Soto is easy, but what about the job Cashman did? Brian Cashman has been much maligned in this town in recent years, despite putting together winners, for his failure to secure top of the line talent. Those mistakes were erased. Cashman and his crew saw a deficiency in their team and addressed it all on the field, but off the field it also put the rest of baseball, and Yankees fans' hearts on notice, that New York is back. Plenty of credit has to go to Hal as well, who knows he will have to shell out a king's ransom to sign Soto after the season. But, what they both knew is you can’t waste another year of Judge and Cole's prime and they went all in.

Juan Soto at bat for the San Diego Padres during a game at Petco Park. Ryan Casey Aguinaldo | Wikipedia

Cashman gets the lion's share of the credit though because at the end of the day it's who he traded to get Soto. There was no Peraza, no Jasson, no Volpe, no Wells, not even Spencer Jones. Soto was had for players that Cashman signed and developed. Michael King is the big name going back, but a 130 inning pitcher at 29-years-old off of an injury and only one year left of control is an easy trade piece. So was Vasquez who the Yankees signed for just $10,000 and every team passed him by. Brito signed as an unranked prospect for just $35,000 while Higgy was a journeyman catcher. So in essence this trade is Soto for Thorpe and some depth pitching. Well done Cashman, well done indeed. This should cure many Yankees fans' seasonal depression this winter and come the spring there is a new breath of life into the pinstripes.