Juan Soto Won't Go to Mexico City With the Yankees, Plans To Work On His Swing

Soto is still tinkering as Opening Day approaches.

The New York Yankees are headed to Mexico City this weekend for two exhibition games against the Diablos Rojos del Mexico. Unfortunately for everyone involved, a number of Yankees starters won't be making the trip. The latest to drop out is star left fielder Juan Soto, who will reportedly remain in Tampa to "continue working on his swing."

Soto and Aaron Judge are among those who won't be traveling. It appears the biggest names on the roster for the exhibition are Giancarlo Stanton, Alex Verdugo and Anthony Volpe.

It's odd that Soto's excuse for not going is to tinker with his swing, since he has largely been tearing up spring training. In 14 games this spring, Soto is hitting .325, with a .386 OPS, while slugging .700. That's an OPS of 1.086, with four home runs, 10 RBIs and three doubles.

Soto did have a mini-slump from March 11-16 when he went 0-for-12 in a four-game span. But in the three games since he's gone 4-for-10 with a double and two walks against one strikeout. It could be he and the Yankees are worried about his power falling off, since he hasn't hit a home run since March 10.

The showcase games in Mexico City are obviously a secondary concern to the Yankees, who are focusing on turning things around in 2024 after going 82-80 and finishing fourth in the American League East in 2023. Part of that turnaround plan was pulling off a blockbuster deal to acquire Soto, even though he's in his walk year.

Soto staying behind doesn't matter much in the end, but it's notable that this close to Opening Day he still feels like he needs to tinker with his swing. The Yankees need him to hit the ground running.

Ryan Phillips is a senior writer at The Big Lead.