Most of the top players Major League Baseball has to offer are gathered to participate in this year's All-Star festivities. Ahead of Monday's Home Run Derby, both rosters are at Globe Life Field to speak to media and some will be preparing for the main event later in the evening.
New York Yankees slugger Juan Soto, winner of the 2022 home run contest, will not be participating in this year's Derby but is most definitely an All-Star. As such, he was available to reporters today and was asked a classic All-Star week question— which MLB player would he most like to play with on the same team?
Soto's answer was, perhaps, unsurprising but interesting nonetheless. The superstar named Shohei Ohtani.
"I mean, Ohtani would have been one of the best," Soto said. "Now he went to the NL and I went to the AL, so, been a little tricky. But definitely Ohtani would be one of them."
After being asked about Steph Curry and LeBron James playing on the same team with Team USA, Juan Soto is asked about an MLB player he'd like to play on the same team with:
— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) July 15, 2024
"[Shohei] Ohtani would be one of them - he went to the NL and I went to the AL, so it's tricky" pic.twitter.com/wsziMp4p6e
Ohtani and Soto both played in California for a stretch, with Soto suiting up for the San Diego Padres as Ohtani did the same for the Los Angeles Angels. This past offseason, Soto went to the opposite coast as the Padres traded him to the Yankees with one year before he hits free agency. Ohtani signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers as a free agent in his own right.
So, as Soto hints here, their paths could have easily crossed this past offseason whether they both ended up in pinstripes or elsewhere. And could very well still happen. New York is undoubtedly interested in retaining Soto but he is going to demand a very big contract and the Yanks already have two of those on the books in Aaron Judge and Gerrit Cole. The Dodgers, meanwhile, seem to find any number of ways to continue to add high-priced talent to an already-loaded roster and it wouldn't be shocking if they continued on that track despite signing Ohtani to a record contract last winter.
In his first year as a Yankee, Soto is slashing .295/.426/.458 with 23 home runs and 66 RBI. Additionally, Soto is very much living up to his reputation as one of the league's most patient hitters, leading MLB with 79 walks so far.
Ohtani, meanwhile, has been limited to a DH role as he recovers from Tommy John surgery but hasn't needed much time to adjust to his new uniform. The international superstar is hitting .316 while leading the league in homers (29) and runs (75).
For the time being, such a team-up will remain in the imagination of Soto. But what a world where they wear the same uniforms.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Yankees' Juan Soto Reveals Biggest Superstar He'd Like to Play With .
