How Juan Soto's relationship with Aaron Judge has been pivotal so far with the Yankees (2024)

NEW YORK — Every day, Aaron Judge and Juan Soto sit side by side. The New York Yankees meet to game plan against that day’s starting pitcher before every game, and their two best hitters are always at the front of the room. Often, when the hitting coaches finally open the floor to group discussion, Judge will shoot Soto a quick glance.

“I’m always tapping him like, ‘Hey, speak up, the boys want to hear if you’ve got something good for us,’” Judge recalled recently. “He always has a good little nugget to share.”

Soto picks Judge’s brain, too. Having spent his first six seasons in the National League, the 25-year-old slugger likes to sidle up to Judge in the Yankees’ dugout, pull out his team-issued iPad, fire up video of the pitcher they’re facing and ask Judge to dig into his experience against him for insight.

“He definitely tries to help me out,” Soto said.

Where Soto will play next year has been and will continue to be the main subplot to this Yankees season.

On Tuesday, New York Mets billionaire owner Steve Cohen — expected to be one of Soto’s most aggressive suitors — watched from his Citi Field suite as Soto and Judge each homered in the Yankees’ 9-7 loss to their Queens rivals. Soto hit a solo home run in the fifth inning and walked twice. Judge went 2-for-3, doubling and hitting an eighth-inning grand slam.

The Yankees hope that Soto won’t only be motivated by cash this winter. With many expecting that the bidding for the star could reach between $400 million and $500 million, owner Hal Steinbrenner certainly has the money to make Cohen sweat.

But trading for Soto in December was a long play, too. The idea was to give him a yearlong taste of what it’s like wearing pinstripes and cross their fingers that he likes it enough to never want to leave.

His relationship with Judge — the team captain signed through 2031 — could go a long way toward Soto making the Bronx his forever home.

So far, they both say they’ve loved hitting next to each other in the lineup and playing beside each other in the outfield.

“I think we just have a lot of respect for each other and what we do,” Judge said.

“He’s a guy you can talk to and have fun throughout the game,” Soto said. “It’s been fun so far. It’s been great for us.”

The numbers show that Soto and Judge make a great pair.

They are first and second in the American League in OPS, with Judge at 1.128 and Soto at 1.004. Judge’s 29 home runs and 75 RBIs are leading baseball. Soto’s .305 batting average is second in the AL and his 57 RBIs are fourth.

“That’s as good of a one-two punch as you could have,” manager Aaron Boone said. “Left and right, both guys that get on base over a .400 clip. Both with huge power. They complement each other really, really well. Just two great all-around players”

What’s helped is that they genuinely like each other. This isn’t Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez.

When the Yankees completed their trade with the San Diego Padres for Soto at the Winter Meetings, Soto’s phone buzzed off the hook. One of the first texts was from Judge.

“(He) started talking with me to let me know how happy they are,” Soto said. “That’s one of the things that shows you who he is. We got him, Gerrit Cole and all of those other guys texting me. That really showed me they really care about me.”

At the time, even Scott Boras, Soto’s agent, saw them getting along well before they were in the same clubhouse.

“Certainly,” Boras said, “Gotham has its Dynamic Duo for 2024.”

They also have helped each other in the outfield. With Judge shifting to center field to give right field to Soto, the pair say they communicate well. They also have turned the downtime of certain home games into theater. During pitching changes, Soto and left fielder Alex Verdugo often meet Judge in center field and play with the crowd, trying to hype up their respective sides. After a while, they pick the loudest fans and toss a baseball in their direction.

“I like having fun with him, too, especially here where the fans love him so much,” Judge said. “He always kind of nods and then gives them a wave. But there are certain times where he’s 2-for-3 with two homers and the fans don’t stop talking. I’m like, ‘Keep waving at them. They love you. Keep having fun.’ So, we joke back and forth about that in the outfield. But it’s just a treat and I really enjoy it.”

As for hitting next to each other in the lineup, Soto and Judge each have seen specific benefits. Soto said he’s noticed that pitchers have tried to pitch around him less.

“Definitely,” he said. “We’re almost halfway (through the season) and I know I have some walks, but it’s not like in the past. In the past, it was way higher walks. This time, that’s not happening.”

Judge said since teams have to approach Soto so carefully, it gives him an opportunity to get a more detailed preview of that pitcher’s attack plan.

“Getting a chance to see this pitcher and how his pitches are working today, what does he have a feel for, if he’s really on line with his slider here or if his fastball command is really off — that gives me a chance to be on my game plan like, ‘OK, if his fastball isn’t working today, maybe he’ll rely on that off-speed today,’” Judge said. “I get to see everything. I’m going to see eight or nine pitches in front of me.”

Judge’s favorite Soto moment came in a recent hitters meeting. They were detailing the pitch package of an opponent, whom Judge didn’t name, when Soto spoke up.

“He said something about, ‘I look in this certain area against this guy and I just eliminate this certain pitch. Even though the (scouting report) says he throws this pitch 18 percent of the time, just eliminate this pitch because it’s not a strike.’”

Standing in front of his locker at Yankee Stadium, Judge thought for a moment and smiled.

“It’s just impressive how consistent he is on a daily basis, how his attitude never changes,” he said. “When he’s going well (and) when he’s not going well. The guy’s a competitor. We’re always out in the outfield talking about different plays, talking about scenarios in the different pitching stuff going on. The guy’s just a student of the game. It’s been intriguing to watch him and learn from him and I get a front-row seat to it every day.”

But what about every day for the rest of Judge’s career? If they work this well together now, it could play a major role in keeping Soto around the Bronx.

(Top photo of Juan Soto and Aaron Judge: Jim McIsaac / Getty Images)