Inside The Mets

Yankees' Carlos Rodón has perfect response for how to pitch to Mets' Juan Soto

New York Yankees hurler Carlos Rodón got honest about how he plans to pitch against Juan Soto.

Grant Young

Oct 26, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; New York Yankees pitcher Carlos Rodon (55) reacts in the third inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers during game two of the 2024 MLB World Series at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
Oct 26, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; New York Yankees pitcher Carlos Rodon (55) reacts in the third inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers during game two of the 2024 MLB World Series at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
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The biggest splash of the MLB offseason came when the New York Mets signed former Yankees slugger Juan Soto to a 15-year, $765 million deal, which is the largest contract in sports history.

Considering that the Yankees' pitching staff had front-row seats to all of Soto's at-bats for an entire season, one would imagine that they'd have a better idea than most about how to get him out.

But when Yankees' left-handed hurler Carlos Rodón spoke with the media on February 11, it became clear that he was still just as baffled as everybody else about how to pitch to No. 22.

"I don't know, he kind of hits everything," Rodón said with a smile, per an X post from SNY. "He's a tough out. So it will be fun. It will be a fun matchup. I've faced him before, and I don't remember what happened. I think he hit the ball hard somewhere."

Soto is 0-2 with a walk against Rodón in his MLB career.

When asked about Soto leaving in free agency, Rodón added, "I'm happy for Juan. Juan was a good friend and was a great teammate. He's a class act and he's a great Yankee, too," per SNY.

"Would I have liked him to stay here with us? Yeah. Selfishly, yeah for sure. But I'm happy for Juan... and hopefully it all works out for him, and her performs well. I'm a Juan Soto fan until he steps in the box against our team," he added.

Soto will step in the box against Rodón's team on May 16.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers the New York Mets and Women’s Basketball for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco, where he also played Division 1 baseball for five years. He believes Mark Teixeira should have been a first ballot MLB Hall of Fame inductee.

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