New York Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole has had some battles with his new teammate Juan Soto, most notably in the 2019 World Series, when Cole was a member of the Houston Astros, and Soto hit multiple home runs off of him in the series, helping the Washington Nationals win their first championship. Cole is glad to have Soto on his side now, and he talked about how much of a pain it is to go up against for pitchers.

“Yeah, just a magnificent hitter, really,” Gerrit Cole said, via YES Network. “Best feel for the strike zone that I've ever come across. Man is he going to be tough to deal with. He's just, it's a combination of create a player statistics and attributes at the plate. And having faced him and not really had a ton of success, to be quite honest, very thankful that I don't have to pitch against him, and very thankful that he's on our side, and excited to see what he can bring.”

The Yankees only have Juan Soto for one year after acquiring him in a trade with the San Diego Padres this offseason, but they are hoping he and Aaron Judge can be a dynamic duo that leads the offense this year. Due to many factors, the Yankees offense disappointed in 2023, and injuries had a lot to do with that. The addition of Soto, along with maybe some better luck when it comes to injuries, could make New York's lineup dangerous.

Cole is coming off of a Cy Young season in 2023, and he will try to build off of that to help the Yankees win their first World Series since 2009. He knows first-hand how Soto can help in that regard.