"Juan Soto and Aaron Judge back-to-back was our ultimate strength" - Yankees manager gets honest about losing superstar to Mets for $765,000,000

The New York Yankees' overall bid for re-signing Juan Soto fell just $5 million short of the 15-year $765 million, he was offered by the New York Mets. While they have made other additions to strengthen their lineup, it remains to be seen whether they can retain their 2024 production when Soto and captain Aaron Judge led them to their first World Series in 15 years.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone acnkowledged the same on WFAN Radio. As per the Bombers skipper, he took pride in how the ownership and rest of the management pursued Soto in the offseason but he was also satisfied with the quick pivot. He added that Soto and Judge's production led them deep into the playoffs.

"I'm so proud of how Hal and ownership handled everything. I don't think it would have ever stopped if we kept going and all the other things that started to add up. It's like I feel like we put a great foot forward, I feel like we made a great pivot.

"But, you know, for a lot of people that are just like, "Ah, we got Juan and Aaron back to back," even though maybe you had some flaws elsewhere on the roster, really, I mean, that was the reason for our ultimate strength in getting to a World Series," Boone said. [25:25]

Aaron Judge and Juan Soto drove in 253 RBIs for the team, with 99 home runs combined in the regular season. The rest of the offense heavily relied on them for the production. They received help from Giancarlo Stanton in October, but the two were the major reasons for the team's success in 2024.

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Hal Steinbrenner feels Yankees can balance Soto's departure with new signings

The alternative plan to not getting Juan Soto has shaped up pretty well for the Yankees. They got Max Fried in free agency for an eight-year $218 million contract.

The Yankees traded for former MVPs Cody Bellinger from the Chicago Cubs and Paul Goldschmidt from the St. Louis Cardinals to help in the infield defense and improve their overall offense.

As per Hal Steinbrenner, in an exclusive interview with YES Network, they could balance out the production for the upcoming season.

"I think our starting rotation is better. I think our defense is better. And I think that (Cody) Bellinger and (Paul) Goldschmidt are gonna make up for a good deal of Juan's offense, his bat," he said.

With Juan Soto and Aaron Judge going back-to-back, there was significant power-hitting protection in the New York lineup if teams chose to intentionally walk Bellinger or Goldschmidt, as both were seemingly past their prime.