Stop asking Yankees' Brian Cashman if he regrets trading for Juan Soto

It's not surprising that, in the wake of Juan Soto defecting to the Mets for a surprisingly-slim-but-still-significant difference in coinage (we see you, Rob Manfred's Salary Police!), the Yankees-hating Twitterverse has chosen to clown on New York's 2023 trade for a one-year version of Soto. Of course, if the Yankees had passed on Soto and continued operating with marginal upgrades, instead signing Adam Duvall or a lesser equivalent, they would've been dunked on as some other team received the fruit of Soto's labors. But that's besides the point.

It is somewhat surprising, though, that the serious-as-ever baseball media decided to participate in the same discourse as the one led online by @Boston'sBest2004.

Brian Cashman was asked at the Winter Meetings whether he regretted trading a package to the Padres for one year of Soto without a guarantee of a future partnership. Ironically, he was asked this while he attempted to once again deal for a single year of Kyle Tucker without a safety net (and, yes, when he failed, @Boston'sBest2004 dunked on him for that too, without a hint of irony about dunking on both sides of the coin).

Cashman, who would've had to pay a hefty price last winter if he'd traded for 16 years of Soto, didn't regret dealing for the slugger whatsoever. And he shouldn't. The package was light, and the New York Yankees reached the World Series. If he's not willing to say it, we will.

Yankees should never regret Juan Soto trade. They made the World Series.

Hilariously, the chatter in the wake of Soto's departure focused on the Yankees "clearly being more than a Soto away" from there they needed to be. I'll go ahead and disagree with that one, too. The 82-80 Yankees of 2023 didn't have nearly enough position player depth to survive Aaron Judge's toe injury; the 2024 version made a few marginal additions, and imported Soto, immediately reaching the World Series.

If Nestor Cortes' pitch doesnt ... if the fly ball doesn't doink off Aaron Judge ... if somebody covers first ... the Dodgers were a phenomenal team, but the World Series is almost always a coin flip. If the Yankees had gotten the breaks instead, they were right there. And that is always worth a significant trade.

Additionally ... how significant was the trade? The Yankees dealt Jhony Brito and Randy Vásquez away after both emerged as serviceable during the lost 2023 season. Vásquez, with his electric fastball, struck out 62 men in 98 innings for the 2024 Padres; Brito reached 43 2/3 innings and 0.2 bWAR. They also sent Kyle Higashioka over for his powerful final year of team control (just enough for the Padres to fall in love with him), as Austin Wells emerged in the Bronx. Drew Thorpe, the changeup artist (and only top prospect included), was flipped to Chicago for Dylan Cease, which stings slightly. Michael King, whom the Yankees parlayed into Soto after just nine excellent starts in 2023, broke out in 2024, but will reach free agency next year. You could argue the Yankees' most painful loss was a gain: Trent Grisham, who was an expensive drag on the roster, and likely hindered their trade deadline financial flexibility.

You have to give to get. The Padres didn't get ripped off, by any means. This was, as they say, a "quality baseball trade." But would the Yankees have made the World Series with King and Higgy and without Soto? Not a chance. No reason to regret a thing.

The 2024 Yankees were a Soto away from contending. Now, they can pivot nicely, and can double down on run prevention. And it might just work. But they'll always be, cruelly, a Soto away. That's why you go ahead and get a Soto when the opportunity presents itself, no matter the cost (and the cost wasn't that high to begin with).