By Loveth 
When Juan Soto mentioned that pitchers are approaching him a bit differently now that he’s no longer batting behind Aaron Judge, it didn’t take long for that quote to blow up. Suddenly, it became a hot topic across sports shows, podcasts, and headlines. Naturally, Judge was asked about it—and his response? Pretty chill.
Since leaving the Yankees for a massive 15-year, $765 million deal with the Mets, Soto’s been adjusting. Through his first 12 games, he’s had 74 plate appearances, seen 278 pitches, and hasn’t made much solid contact yet—just four barrelled balls out of 49 batted balls. That’s a big drop from his time batting alongside Judge, where he racked up 91 barrels in a season.
Soto isn’t exactly being pitched drastically differently. He’s seeing nearly the same percentage of four-seam fastballs and sliders compared to last year. But he admitted it’s a little tougher without a guy like Judge behind him in the lineup. When Judge was there, pitchers had to go after Soto more aggressively—more strikes, fewer intentional walks.
Still, Soto’s now batting in front of Pete Alonso, who’s been on fire and is having one of his best hitting starts ever. So it’s not like he’s lacking backup. In the past, Soto’s also batted in front of heavy hitters like Manny Machado and Howie Kendrick, so he knows the drill.
When asked about the whole situation, Judge kept it classy and didn’t take the bait. “I’m not going back and forth with this,” he said. He gave props to Alonso and the Mets, saying it’s been fun to watch them. Judge himself is off to a solid start this year after a slow beginning last season.
To be clear, Soto wasn’t complaining—just reflecting. He knows he’s the big bat in the Mets lineup now, and that comes with being the main target for opposing pitchers, just like Barry Bonds once was. Last year, Soto could blend into the Yankees lineup behind Judge’s 58 homers. Now, he’s the guy everyone’s planning around.
Judge had nothing but good things to say about his former teammate. “You can’t replace a guy like Soto. He’s one of one. That’s why he got the deal he did,” Judge said.
This story will probably fade soon, unless it gets brought back up when the Mets and Yankees face off in mid-May. Until then, it’s just two stars doing their thing on different teams.
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