Juan Soto Saves The Day In Yankees Debut With Incredible Defensive Play

The New York Yankees made a big splash this offseason when they acquired superstar slugger Juan Sot0. The 25-year-old has all-time great numbers for his age at the plate, but isn’t known for his defense in the outfield.

Juan Soto made an instant impact at the plate in the Yankees’ 5-4 opening day win over the Houston Astros. But, it’s a defensive play that will be remembered by Yankees fans as the play that defined his debut.

The lefty had a great day at the plate, going 1-3, driving in a run, and drawing two walks with his outstanding plate discipline. That RBI single in the fifth inning got the Bronx Bombers on the board after they fell behind 4-0 early.

The Yankees clawed back to tie the game, and took the lead on an Alex Verdugo sacrifice fly in the 7th inning. They carried a 5-4 lead into the ninth, when the Astros started to rally.

A leadoff single by Mauricio Dubon was followed by a one-out single by Yordan Alvarez. New York 2nd baseman Gleyber Torres made an excellent play on Alvarez’s single, diving into the hole  to keep the ball in the infield instead of it trickling into right field, which would’ve surely allowed Dubon to advance to 3rd base.

That brought up star Kyle Tucker, and set up Soto’s incredible play. Take a look.

Soto is not known for his arm at all. It’s not terrible, and was 58th percentile last year, according to Baseball Savant.  But, it’s unexpected for him to make such a big defensive contribution.  Clay Holmes got Alex Bregman to ground out, and the Yankees started the season 1-0.

Needless to say, Yankees fans are already head-over-heels for Juan Soto.

Yes, it’s game one of 162. But, after last year’s disastrous campaign that saw the team miss the postseason, the vibes are off to a much better start.