NEW YORK — For three games, it was dry in the Bronx, but it rained on Juan Soto. When he walked to the plate, New York Yankees fans showered him with boos so vicious they could make Jose Altuve wince. When he stood in right field, chants of “(Expletive) Juan Soto!” came from the same people who once adored him.
It got to the point where Soto wouldn’t even warm up his arm between innings in a normal way. The Yankee-turned-Met would position himself in shallow right field to toss back and forth with center fielder Jeff McNeil, far from the fans. Often, he would wait until the last moment to emerge from the Mets’ dugout to head to right field. It was like he wanted to be as far away from his tormentors for as long as he could.
Is it going to be like this forever for Soto at Yankee Stadium? Did he make himself a lifelong enemy of the biggest fan base in his city when he took the New York Mets’ $765 million deal filled with perks, rejecting a career in pinstripes?
“Yeah, I mean, it probably could be,” manager Aaron Boone said before Sunday’s 8-2 win. “It’s New York. To some degree, probably.”
For Soto, love doesn’t live here anymore.
That was the biggest takeaway from a Yankees standpoint as they took the Subway Series 2-1. Here are some others:
Soto made it a point most of the series to warm up in shallow RF — well away from the crowd. pic.twitter.com/qZfSvrmRv8
— Brendan Kuty 🧟♂️ (@BrendanKutyNJ) May 19, 2025
The pivot has worked — so far
Sunday’s win seemed to come straight out of the Yankees’ offseason playbook.
When Soto left, the Yankees immediately pivoted to Plan B, which maybe should have been Plan A all along. They signed starting pitcher Max Fried and first baseman Paul Goldschmidt, and they traded for outfielder Cody Bellinger and then-closer Devin Williams.
The quartet played huge roles in Sunday’s victory. Fried continued his ace-like beginning to the season by giving up two runs over six innings, striking out eight. Williams pitched a scoreless eighth inning. Goldschmidt rocked an RBI single to give the Yankees a 4-2 lead in the eighth. And Bellinger followed him with a grand slam that busted the game open in the same frame.
They have also been major contributors to the Yankees’ 27-19 record, first place in the American League East by five games.
Fried is 6-0 with a 1.29 ERA through his first 10 starts — an early AL Cy Young Award contender. Williams (7.31 ERA) had a rocky start and lost his closer role, but he’s settled down, having not given up an earned run in eight of his last nine appearances. Goldschmidt (.339 batting average) has been a revelation after a tough 2024. Bellinger, who had six RBIs on Sunday, has a 13-game hitting streak over which he’s hit .340 (17-for-50). His batting average is up to .258. It was at .196 on May 1.
Fried was especially impressed with Bellinger.
“He can hit a homer or he can choke up and hit the ball the other way for a base hit,” he said. “He has the ability to fight off some really tough pitches, especially with two strikes.”
Jorbit Vivas drives in the winning run on a fielder’s choice in the eighth inning against the Mets. (Al Bello / Getty Images)
What they see in Vivas
Rookie Jorbit Vivas had easily the biggest at-bat of Sunday’s win. He went 11 pitches against flame-throwing reliever Ryan Stanek with runners on second and third and one out in the eighth inning. Of those 11 pitches, 10 of them were fastballs at 99 miles per hour or faster. He fouled off six pitches before hitting a grounder at first baseman Pete Alonso, who threw the ball away trying to catch a speedy Jasson Domínguez at home.
It gave the Yankees a 3-2 lead. They would run away with it from there.
“One-hundred percent won us the game,” Bellinger said of Vivas’ at-bat.
The Yankees have believed that Vivas can at least be pesky at the plate. At 5-foot-9 and 171 pounds, he doesn’t generate lots of power. But he knows the strike zone and can hit toward the gaps.
“I actually was a huge fan of him in spring training,” Bellinger said. “I loved his at-bats. … He’s got a lot of confidence. He’s fun to watch.”
The Yankees acquired Vivas from the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2023. He didn’t make The Athletic’s Keith Law’s top 20 Yankees prospects list going into this season, but the Yankees are giving him a chance to prove that his lefty bat might be underrated. He’ll have a chance to play third base with Oswaldo Cabrera (fractured foot) out and Jazz Chisholm Jr. (strained oblique) still weeks from returning. The Yankees believe Oswald Peraza is a better defender than Vivas, but if Vivas can hit with regularity, he could change the conversation in terms of playing time.
Bellinger is helping off the field
On Saturday, Bellinger told reporters he spoke with Domínguez about a play he believed they could have communicated better on in the Yankees’ 3-2 loss. In the ninth inning, Francisco Lindor hit a fly ball to left-center field. Domínguez, playing left field, and Bellinger converged on it. But Bellinger didn’t hear Domínguez call for the ball, so he called for it late, caught it and tried to throw out Luisangel Acuña Jr. at home. It didn’t work. He scored on the sacrifice fly. But Bellinger had thought that Domínguez had a better angle on the throw. So, Bellinger pulled Domínguez aside in the dugout later, and they talked about it.
Bellinger wasn’t scolding the rookie. Instead, he was trying to help, and Domínguez was appreciative. Especially as he’s still acclimating to left field — a new position.
“It’s been amazing,” Domínguez said Sunday. “Bellinger. (Trent) Grisham. Obviously, two Gold Glovers. All of the conversations they have with me, all the ways they want to help me, it’s been really, really good for me. … It gives you confidence when you know these guys have your back.”
(Top photo of Juan Soto taking the field to jeers from Yankees fans: Al Bello / Getty Images)