November 8, 2024

Yankees get Juan Soto in blockbuster trade; CBS Sports All-America Team

Yankees #Yankees

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Good morning to everyone but especially …

JUAN SOTO AND THE NEW YORK YANKEES

Start spreading the news. Juan Soto is a New York Yankee. The Padres sent the 25-year-old star to the Bronx in a blockbuster deal. Here are the moving parts:

  • Yankees receive: OF Juan Soto, OF Trent Grisham
  • Padres receive: RHP Michael King, RHP Drew Thorpe, RHP Jhony Brito, RHP Randy Vásquez, C Kyle Higashioka
  • Yes, Soto is slated to be a free agent at season’s end, and yes, he’s coming off a somewhat “down” (but still very, very good) season-and-a-half in San Diego compared to what he did with the Nationals. But this is an absolute home run of a trade for New York, R.J. Anderson writes in his trade grades.

  • Anderson: “Yankees grade: A — It’s not often you see a player of this caliber moved twice before reaching free agency. Indeed, Soto remains an absolute force at the plate thanks to an elite eye and feel for making loud contact. The Padres may have disappointed at a team level last season, but it wasn’t because of Soto. … The only qualified batters with a higher on-base percentage than Soto since the start of the 2022 season are Yordan Alvarez, Freddie Freeman, and new teammate Aaron Judge. There are some really good duos out there right now … but the Soto-Judge pairing might end up being the best of the bunch if both stay healthy. … The Yankees will live with whatever Soto brings to the table defensively to get his bat in the lineup. The easiest way to fix an offense that ranked 25th in runs scored is to add good hitters. It’s hard to do better in that respect than Soto.”
  • The report card is not as glowing for the Padres, to put it nicely.

    The Yankees’ projected lineup is loaded, notes Mike Axisa, and Matt Snyder outlines how the Judge-Soto pairing can work defensively, too. 

    Here’s more from the biggest offseason move so far:

    👍 Honorable mentions 😦 And not such a good morning for … Getty Images

    THE JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS

    It’s already been a tough week for the Jaguars with Trevor Lawrence’s ankle injury and Christian Kirk’s core muscle surgery. Now, they have an eight-figure scandal on their hands. Former team employee Amit Patel has been accused of stealing more than $22 million from the team from 2019-23, according to court documents.

  • Patel, who worked in financial planning and analysis for the team, was charged with one count of wire fraud and one count of illegal monetary transaction.
  • Patel allegedly bought several items, including two vehicles and a condominium, with the money and reportedly also purchased cryptocurrency and placed bets on online gambling sites.
  • The Jaguars confirmed they were the victim of financial crimes via a statement. The team terminated Patel’s employment in February 2023, according to the statement.
  • Patel oversaw the company’s monthly financial statements and department budgets and was the administrator of the club’s virtual credit card, allegedly giving him the power and access to commit said crimes, and he used a variety of strategies to cover them up.

    😔 Not so honorable mentions 🏈 Three unanimous selections lead CBS Sports All-America Team USATSI

    It’s awards season in college football, and that means the CBS Sports All-America Team is here!

    In total 10 players from our preseason All-America team played up to the high standard we set for them:

  • Ohio State WR Marvin Harrison Jr.
  • Washington WR Rome Odunze
  • Georgia TE Brock Bowers
  • Notre Dame OL Joe Alt
  • Penn State OL Olumuyiwa Fashanu
  • Kansas State OL Cooper Beebe
  • Illinois DL Jer’Zahn Newton
  • Alabama CB Kool-Aid McKinstry
  • Georgia S Malaki Starks 
  • Iowa P Tory Taylor
  • Alt, Taylor and Oklahoma State running back Ollie Gordon II were the three unanimous selections in what proved to be a season full of unexpected twists and turns and breakout stars — none more so than first-team All-America quarterback Jayden Daniels of LSU.

    Overall, 32 programs are represented across 55 selections (first- and second-team). Alabama, Georgia, LSU, Notre Dame, Texas and Iowa were the only schools with multiple selections, and the SEC had the most selections of any conference with 17.

    You can see both teams (and a few honorable mentions) here.

    🏆 How a former voter would vote for Heisman Trophy USATSI

    Once a voter, always a voter … or at least thinking like one. Dennis Dodd relinquished his Heisman Trophy ballot nearly a decade ago, but he’s still evaluating who deserves it most, and, unlike the actual voters, he can share his thought process with us.

    So he did exactly that ahead of Saturday’s announcement, which will feature four finalists: Daniels, Michael Penix Jr., Bo Nix and Marvin Harrison Jr. So, who comes in atop Dennis’ hypothetical ballot?

  • Dodd: “1. Jayden Daniels — Like everything else about his game, Daniels got here unexpectedly. When Oregon’s Bo Nix lost with the rest of the Ducks on Friday, that opened the door to an unusual Heisman winner. … The Arizona State transfer leads the country in yards per pass (11.7) and passer rating (208). … Add it all up, and it’s one of the best seasons in history. Daniels would be the fourth player since 2007 to win the Heisman despite leading a three-loss team. He would also be the fifth SEC player to win it in over the last six seasons.”
  • 🤝 Playing matchmaker for transfer portal quarterbacks USATSI

    It’s another massive year for the transfer portal — our tracker is updating seemingly nonstop — and that’s especially true at quarterback. Georgia’s Brock Vandagriff was the headliner Wednesday, choosing Kentucky as his next home.

    There’s still an almost overwhelming number of top-tier options available, though: 13 players with at least a 0.900 grade according to 247Sports. And Will Backus has best fits for 10 of the nation’s top “free agent” signal callers, including a return to a home state for …

  • Backus: “Dante Moore, UCLA | Best potential fit: Michigan — Moore doesn’t need to start right away. That much was made clear during his time at UCLA. The former five-star prospect showed plenty of promise as a true freshman, throwing for 1,610 yards and 11 touchdowns in five starts, but he struggled with turnovers and the Bruins ultimately turned to more experienced options later in the season. Moore could immediately step into a starting role at Michigan if J.J. McCarthy leaves for the NFL, but there’s a strong chance that McCarthy returns for one more year in an effort to improve his draft stock. That would be ideal for Moore.”
  • 📺 What we’re watching Thursday

    🏀 Pacers vs. Bucks, 5 p.m. on ESPN🏒 Stars at Capitals, 8 p.m. on ESPN🏈 Patriots at Steelers, 8:15 p.m. on Prime Video🏀 Pelicans vs. Lakers, 9 p.m. on TNT🏒 Devils at Kraken, 10:30 p.m. on ESPN

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