Last winter’s Juan Soto sweepstakes—capped by his jaw-dropping 15-year, $765 million megadeal with the New York Mets—feels like ancient history now. But rewind to this time last year, and the drama was just heating up. Soto was still suiting up for the Yankees, laser-focused on delivering a World Series title to the Bronx. Spoiler: it didn’t happen. The Yankees fell to the Dodgers in the 2024 Fall Classic, and the fallout sparked endless chatter about Soto’s dynamic with Yankees captain and 2024 AL MVP Aaron Judge.
No outright beef, but eyebrows shot up on November 22, 2024, when SNY quoted Judge admitting, “Yeah, I haven’t talked to him at all,” about reaching out to Soto during free agency. “I talked to him all season and he knows how we feel about him,” Judge explained.
Embed X: https://twitter.com/schlittlerera/status/1982248248745107512
“The most important thing is [to] now let him do his thing with his family, pray about it, talk with people, and come to the right decision for him and his family.” That hands-off vibe fueled speculation: Did Judge regret not pushing harder to keep Soto in pinstripes? (Mets fans, meanwhile, were thrilled with the silence.)
Embed X: https://twitter.com/snyyankees/status/1860048869851091350
Fast-forward to October 25—Soto’s birthday—and any lingering tension just got obliterated. Soto dropped a viral Instagram reel of himself dancing with family, rocking a massive, glittering “Derby Champ” chain (a nod to his Home Run Derby crown). The post exploded: 6.3 million views, 420,000 likes, and counting.
Then came the mic-drop moment. The top comment? None other than Aaron Judge, sliding in with a simple “🤣”.
It’s just one emoji, but in the world of superstar subtweets, it’s pure gold. Yankees fans lost it—proof that Judge and Soto’s bond is rock-solid, even after the free-agency split and Soto’s jump to the Mets. No hard feelings, just laughs across the boroughs. The Bronx Bomber and the Queens King? Still buddies. And the internet can’t get enough.