MLB analyst predicts Yankees will miss Juan Soto in their lineup this year

Since losing Juan Soto to the New York Mets in free agency during the offseason, the New York Yankees have pivoted and made several signings to replace the Dominican star.

However, they have suffered several key injuries ahead of the upcoming season, which has left them looking for some last-minute additions to their lineup. While they still boast a formidable lineup, one MLB insider believes that they will miss Soto and rely heavily on Aaron Judge to pull them through.

Juan Soto formed a deadly partnership with Aaron Judge and helped the Yankees to the World Series. However, once he entered free agency, several teams offered record contracts for the 26-year-old, and the Mets ultimately won the sweepstakes.

Speaking on the MLB Network, insider Laura Albanese believes that Yankees have gambled on their lineup, hoping that their additions will work out:

"It is going to be tough. The projections are pretty bullish on the Yankees. They do think that they have, I think, the fourth-best offense in MLB, even without Juan Soto. But so much of it is reliant on Aaron Judge.The Yankees do have to hope that a few of the pieces kind of work out.

"They're gambling a little bit with this lineup. While it is deeper, it's still going to be missing Juan Soto. It's going to be missing that presence in the batter's box. What he was able to do in terms of protecting judge, but also what he was able to do in terms of imparting knowledge on to other hitters."

Paul Goldschmidt and Cody Bellinger are two big additions that the Yankees are hoping will work out for them. Among the youngsters, they will look to Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Jasson Dominguez to step up and perform at a high level. That said, only time will tell how the season goes for the Yankees.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone opens up about meeting Juan Soto as a Mets player

New York Yankees faced the New York Mets in a Spring Training game on Monday, marking their first meeting since Juan Soto's record-breaking move across town.

After the game, Yankees manager Aaron Boone spoke to the media about meeting Soto for the first time since the offseason:

"I told him he looked terrible in that uniform... Honestly, it was actually really good to see him."

Soto had two at-bats in Monday's game but failed to make an impact, recording no hits on the day. The game ended in a 6-6 tie. However, both teams will not read too much into the result as the MLB regular season looms just two days away.