Juan Soto is the missing piece the Yankees need to win the World Series. It's almost too good to be true! The New York Yankees, looking for a way to make it through October and end their recent run of bad luck in the playoffs, make a big trade to get baseball's best young offensive player, Juan Soto.

The idea is, of course, that Juan will help the Yankees get to the World Series. You're the piece that's been missing. But it all came together – Soto proved to be the missing piece of the puzzle. The ideal hitter propelled an imperfect team to become American League champions for the first time since 2009.

Soto had the biggest hit in Game 5 of the ALCS, which was the one that knocked out a very tough Guardians team. In the top of the 10th inning, Soto hit a three-run home run, which helped the Yankees beat Cleveland 5-2. The Yankees took the series four games to one.

It could well be Soto's signature moment. But he's so good that it probably won't be his signature moment by the time his career is over, years from now. No matter what happens in this World Series, Soto has made his mark on Yankee history. Maybe it wasn't the same kind of home run as Aaron Boone's 2003 blast that beat the Red Sox or Chris Chambliss's 1976 home run that beat the Royals. But it did the same job.

“Just such an ability to seize the moment,” Boone said of Soto in the postgame interview room in Cleveland. “Every big moment he found himself in the middle of, he delivered over and over and over again for us.

“In the biggest moments, that’s what he does and it shouldn’t be taken for granted.”

So now Soto, his teammate Aaron Judge, and Giancarlo Stanton, who won the ALCS MVP after hitting four home runs in the series, and the rest of the Yankees are headed to the Fall Classic against either the Mets or the Dodgers.

This is why the Yankees brought Soto on board, and it's what everyone else in pinstripes is after, too.

Soto showed everyone how it's done at the plate against Cleveland reliever Hunter Gaddis. Soto paced around, nodding between pitches. He seemed to enjoy going up against Gaddis, who's one of the top arms in what had been the best bullpen in baseball all season.

Soto and Gaddis went back and forth for seven pitches, and Soto fouled off the last four before the at-bat ended with a swing. When Gaddis went for the power pitch, Soto matched him. He hit a 95.2 mph fastball—the only one Gaddis threw him—402 feet. According to Statcast, he hit the ball at nearly 110 mph.

Before long, the game was over. Soto, fittingly, caught the final out in right field. The Yankees are headed to their 41st Fall Classic, aiming for their 28th World Series title. This is why Soto is here.

Just a heads-up, Game 1 is on Friday. Just a quick FYI: Friday is Juan Soto's 26th birthday. Any good signs?