Stephen A. Smith floats stunning rumor about Aaron Judge’s role in Juan Soto decision

Juan Soto has signed with the New York Mets on a record-breaking 15-year, $765 million contract, the largest in pro sports history.

The decision came down to the wire, with the Yankees offering a $760 million deal for 16 years, nearly enough to sway Soto, but he ultimately chose to spend his career in Queens. In the aftermath, sports analyst Stephen A. Smith revealed rumors about Juan Soto’s relationship with Aaron Judge, suggesting it may have played a role in Soto’s decision to leave the Yankees.

“I’ve heard that Juan Soto wasn’t really feeling Aaron Judge,” Smith said during Wednesday’s episode of ESPN’s First Take, as reported by Reice Shipley of Awful Announcing. “I don’t know the particulars. I don’t cover the team. But that’s what I heard from people in the Dominican community that I know personally.”

If Smith’s sources are correct, there might have been friction between Soto and Judge, particularly following the Yankees’ disappointing World Series loss in five games last October.

“If you are Juan Soto and you are going up against the Dodgers, and you saw Mookie Betts play the way that he played along with others. And you watch Aaron Judge come up so small in the heat of that competition. Is that what you want to stick with for years to come?” Smith remarked.

Smith pointed to Judge’s poor performance in the World Series, including dropping a fly ball in Game 5 that contributed to the Yankees’ loss, as a possible factor in Soto’s decision to join the Mets, who also lost to the Dodgers.

“You want a dog with you,” Smith continued. “You want a guy that you can trust to be in the foxhole with you and is going to be out there doing what they are supposed to do.”

Smith also suggested that Judge’s performance in the World Series may have cost the Yankees a key player.

“We can look at the rest of the Yankees, but if Aaron Judge had a better series, we’re talking about them winning Game 1, and we’re likely talking about that being a seven-game series–if Aaron Judge had shown up. And if you are Juan Soto, you have to think about that,” he added.

During the Juan Soto negotiations, Judge expressed that he wanted to give his former teammate space to make his own decision, lending some support to Smith’s claims that the two players weren’t particularly close.

Meanwhile, as Soto moves on to a new team, the Yankees have quickly reworked their roster, using the funds they had set aside for Soto to secure Max Fried with an eight-year, $218 million contract.

The Yankees now have to prove they can succeed without Soto as they aim to add to their 27 World Series titles.