TMZSports.com

The Yankees will head into next season without Juan Soto, but fear not, New York fans … Johnny Damon tells TMZ Sports they might just be better without the star slugger!!

We caught up with the 51-year-old former Pinstripes outfielder on Thursday — just hours after the Mets introduced Soto to their fanbase — and he said straight up, his former team might come out of this situation just fine.

His reasoning? Damon says the Yankees can now take the $750 million they had earmarked for Soto — and spend it on a bunch of key pieces that’ll make them perhaps even more formidable in 2025.

“The Yankees could have dodged a bullet on this one,” the two-time World Series champ said. “This could be huge.”

The Yanks, of course, have already spent big following Soto’s Mets signing … inking former Braves pitcher Max Fried to a $218 million deal.

And, Damon says he fully expects the team to keep writing out checks … maybe even to coveted Mets free agent Pete Alonso.

“I think at the end of the day,” Damon said, “you’re going to have a better team.”

Don’t worry, Mets backers … Damon says he’s still expecting big things from him in Queens — although he is warning NY fans that his numbers might drop due to his new league and ballpark.