Juan Soto position change with Mets just made life worse for Yankees fans

New York Yankees fans still aren't over the near-glory of the 2024 season, nor the regrettable front office moves (or lack thereof) associated with it. The Yanks had lightning in a bottle with both Aaron Judge and Juan Soto in their outfield, and Brian Cashman didn't seize the moment.

Now that Soto has reportedly agreed to change positions with the New York Mets and move to left field, the sting of 2024's impermanence hurts even more for Yankees fans.

Watching Soto man left field in a Mets uniform in 2026 and beyond will be a constant, bitter reminder to Yankees supporters of what a Judge and Soto outfield could have looked like past 2024, with Judge returning to his familiar position of right field.

This vision that will never be is even more heart-wrenching when you consider that Soto very much enjoyed his time with Judge in the Bronx.

Juan Soto's renewed outfield flexibility makes Yankees fans feel rotten inside

Let's not let Cody Bellinger catch any strays here, by the way. Yankees fans are more or less content with a Bellinger-Trent Grisham-Judge outfield heading into 2026 (sounds a bit like last year's, doesn't it?), and there's certainly widespread relief that Cashman didn't botch the Belli situation and end up with a Jasson Dominguez-Grisham-Judge situation.

But even Bellinger himself wouldn't take offense at Yankees fans periodically pining for what could have been with Soto and Judge.

At this point, Yankees fans should probably just protect themselves and stay as far away from Soto headlines as they can. The idea of Soto acting deferent to the Mets' team needs even hurts for a Yankees fan base that watched Soto demand the world in free agency and slip away to the tune of $765 million.

And speaking of $765 million, what happened to the cozy narrative for Yankees fans that Cashman and the club avoided an overpay by losing Soto and are better off for it? Let's remind ourselves that Soto's departure created the fiscal opportunity to fill multiple roster holes (if only Cashman could be a tad more aggressive in that regard).

Ultimately, Soto in Queens continues to garner mixed emotional reactions among the Yankees faithful. He didn't don pinstripes long enough for fans to get too attached, but the fact that he helped the Yanks reach a World Series in his lone season only left behind lingering "what if?" questions that won't ever fully dissipate.