The New York Yankees will open up the American League Division Series on Saturday night against the Kansas City Royals at Yankee Stadium, and when they do, outfielder Juan Soto will make some incredible baseball history.
Per Sarah Langs of MLB.com:
Juan Soto will be the 1st player in MLB history to appear in a postseason game for 3 different teams before turning 27
HE’S 25…HE’LL BE YOUNGEST TO DO SO BY MORE THAN A YEAR
will pass Jason Heyward (27 y, 59 d) on Oct 7, 2016 for CHC (prev ATL, STL) h/t @EliasSports
Soto came up at the age of 19 with the Washington Nationals and made the playoffs with that organization, helping them win the World Series in 2019. He made the playoffs with the San Diego Padres as well, and now he’ll get there with the Yankees.
It feels shocking that this hasn’t happened before, but the combination of coming up so early, changing teams so often and being so productive is certainly a rare one.
It was a great first season in New York for Soto, who will be a free agent at season’s end. A four-time All-Star selection, he hit .288 this season while blasting 41 homers. He also drove in 109 runs, pairing with Aaron Judge to make up the best-hitting duo in the American League.
When he hits free agency, he’s expected to command a salary of more than $500 million.
The Yankees and Royals will open up the series on Saturday at 6:38 p.m. ET. Michael Wacha (KC) will pitch against Gerrit Cole (NYY).
