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Johnny Damon Says Yankees Might Have 'Dodged A Bullet' In Juan Soto Deal, Here's Why
TMZ
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12/13/2024
The Yankees will head into next season without Juan Soto, but fear not, New York fans ... Johnny Damon tells TMZ Sports they might just be better without the star slugger!!
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00:00
Your initial impression of Juan Soto ruling the Yankees for the Mets was what?
00:07
Oh man that was tough because I know how much the Yankee fans loved Juan Soto and I thought
00:12
they were going to do everything possible but I guess the hold up on the sweep was a
00:18
big deal and we know the Mets are out there, they're playing to their fans, they're doing
00:26
everything they can to have a great team and their owner, Stevie Cohen, he's the type of
00:33
owner you want.
00:35
He wants to pay for the best, he wants to get the best and unfortunately he's failed
00:40
a couple of times when trying to bring Verlander and Scherzer, great pitchers but they just
00:45
didn't get it going yet.
00:47
So Juan Soto, he's been one of the best players in the league for the past seven years.
00:54
The money that's out there, it's incredible.
00:56
I love it for the players, I hope Juan Soto the best.
00:59
I think his numbers over 15 years in New York or with the Yankees would probably push him
01:07
to the 600-700 home run mark.
01:10
The Mets stadium is a lot bigger, I've got to see a decrease in home runs unfortunately
01:16
but the leadership skills, the at-bats that he drives pitchers crazy on are going to continue.
01:24
I'm just not sure if the numbers will ever live up to what the expectations of signing
01:30
that huge contract is going to be because it's impossible to live up to those.
01:37
But at least he's trying, he's trying to live up to it and hopefully he brings a championship
01:43
to the Mets.
01:44
So do you think this pressure could get to Juan, I mean you've seen Juan in seven, eight
01:49
years in the league.
01:50
Do you think a seven, he doesn't strike me as a guy that would be affected by $760 million
01:54
whether or not, but do you think that could play into maybe some sort of struggle with
01:58
the Mets at least early on?
02:00
I don't think there's going to be struggles, I just think like the run production, the
02:07
run score, the RBIs, the home runs, I mean it's bigger ballparks.
02:11
I haven't been to the new Braves field but I know the old Fulton County was huge, the
02:17
old Washington ballpark was huge.
02:20
I mean Philly is a good place to hit eight, nine times a year they're going to go there.
02:26
Yeah, but I just think a lot of these National League ballparks are more suited for better
02:33
pitching than better hitting.
02:35
But I don't think he's going to struggle, I think he's going to be a stud, but I do
02:38
think numbers naturally go down playing that city field.
02:43
Yeah, that makes a lot of sense.
02:45
Now you mentioned the suite, that's been kind of one of the biggest thing Yankees fans
02:49
want to talk about.
02:51
In your opinion, was that possibly what brought down this deal?
02:55
And in your opinion, do you think the Yankees should have kind of bent their rules and given
02:59
them the suite?
03:00
Well, in my opinion, the Yankees do give suite tickets to the family, friends, the wives,
03:09
the kids.
03:10
So I'm not sure how many people are in his family or who go to 81 games at Yankee Stadium.
03:18
I know the Yankees have always been very accommodating.
03:23
But if you want a suite that your family and friends can go and have fun, live it up every
03:31
single home game, then so be it.
03:33
I know that's a sticking point with a lot of people.
03:36
I know the Yankees.
03:38
As I read, Aaron Judge doesn't have a suite, Derek Jeter never had a suite.
03:45
But the Yankees always made accommodations to make our families feel very welcome.
03:50
So you're saying if you were a Yankees fan, you would be okay with them doing what they
03:56
did?
03:57
Yeah, I mean, the Yankees do things for a reason.
03:59
There's a reason why I had to cut my hair and shave my beard.
04:03
You have to listen to the boss and you have to listen to the people who are paying you.
04:07
So that's why there was never a question or never a doubt that I was going to cut my hair
04:12
and because I feel like I'm good looking with long hair and short hair.
04:17
The Mets aren't quite the Red Sox when it comes to the Yankees.
04:20
But the Yankees fans, at least in our office, seem to harbor some kind of animosity towards
04:24
Soto for leaving.
04:25
You obviously went from the Red Sox to the Yankees and you know all about being hated.
04:30
What kind of, I guess, environments are he going to walk into?
04:35
You only play the Yankees so often when you're in the AL and the NL, but even around baseball,
04:40
do you feel like the perception is going to change over this?
04:43
Well, I know a bunch of Yankee fans do go to Mets games even though when they don't
04:48
play each other.
04:49
So you're going to have some upset people.
04:51
But I mean, Juan Soto knows what he's getting into.
04:53
I mean, he's been on a number of teams over the years and he's succeeded everywhere.
04:59
I mean, a lot of players say it doesn't bother them getting booed, but it does.
05:05
I think people are going to be upset, but I think at the end of the day, it's a game.
05:11
Juan Soto is taking home $60 million more.
05:18
He's got to be happy for the next 15 years.
05:20
I mean, that's a long time.
05:22
So I mean, I wish him the best.
05:25
For the Yankee fans, guess what?
05:27
You're going to go after three or four big free agents right now to cover what you didn't
05:33
spend there.
05:34
And I think at the end of the day, you're going to have a better team.
05:37
Yes, we're going to miss the great Juan Soto 100%.
05:43
But let's try to bring in a Bellinger.
05:45
Let's try to bring in a few more guys to solidify your team and get it ready to rock and roll
05:51
come February.
05:52
At least there's no more distraction on trying to lock that in.
05:55
Now let's focus on the other players you want to bring to your team and bring another championship
06:01
because it has been 15 years and we all remember what happened 15 years ago.
06:06
They let me walk in.
06:09
I helped wreck the curse of the Bambino, and now there's a curse of Johnny Damon.
06:13
So they need to figure things out so this curse doesn't go on for 86 years.
06:19
You mentioned Bellinger, and they've already signed Max Freed with some of that, I think
06:22
$200-something million.
06:24
Is there, in your mind, a haul, in addition to Max Freed, that could make up for and surpass
06:31
losing Soto?
06:32
Are there names, you mentioned Belly, is there anybody else that you think that could cap
06:36
this off?
06:37
That, okay, they lost Soto, but they're okay now?
06:39
Well, absolutely, because the Mets just spent all that money.
06:43
Isn't Pete Alonso a free agent?
06:44
Yes, yes, and that's what we were talking about in the office, who can protect him in
06:47
the lineup.
06:48
Doesn't he love New York?
06:49
And he's one of my guys, he's a Florida Gator.
06:52
So, I mean, he could be a great guy, and you could possibly add Bellinger.
06:57
So now you have two big offensive pieces, I mean, obviously you want left-handed bats,
07:03
well you get that with Bellinger, but you're going to get great at bats with Alonso.
07:07
I've got to take a look at the list of guys who are out there, but it's like the Yankees,
07:13
they could have dodged a bullet on this one, I mean, this could be huge.
07:18
And they don't have to give up 15 years, you know?
07:21
They can give up three to five years on certain guys and not be hamstrung.
07:29
What year is that going to be?
07:30
Holy smokes, that's going to be 2041?
07:32
Yeah, 39-ish, something around there.
07:35
Yeah, so hopefully this works out for everyone.
07:38
I know when I left the Red Sox, it did work out for everyone.
07:42
I enjoyed my time in New York, and I appreciate the fans for allowing me to put the pinstripes
07:47
on.
07:48
And luckily, we were able to win after signing CeCe, AJ Burnett, because I worked my ass
07:54
off to recruit those guys to sign with the Yankees, because I knew we would win, and
07:58
then you have Andy Pettitte coming back.
08:01
So that was a really great year for us, and I just wanted us to try to continue as long
08:08
as we can.
08:09
But as I mentioned, it's been 15 years, curse of Johnny Damon is alive and well.
08:16
So maybe the answer is eye for eye then, what you're saying.
08:18
If they take Pete Alonso and the Mets get Juan Soto, you think that could really make
08:23
a difference?
08:24
Yeah, but I also think you add the other pieces, because the Yankees did have a lot of situations
08:31
where if someone went down, they didn't have anyone to replace.
08:35
I'm not sure what Rizzo's contract is, I don't know who's going to be playing third base.
08:41
There's a lot of moving parts that go on.
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