patheur

Do the Yankees have an advantage? No.

Sakege November 1, 2024

NEW YORK – In a matter of moments Wednesday night, the New York Yankees went from being Juan Soto’s employer to just one of 30 teams that could pay for his services next year.

Soto, the 26-year-old slugger and baseball’s most coveted free agent this winter, made it abundantly clear that while the Yankees will definitely have the opportunity to retain his services in an offer that will likely exceed $500 million, his decision will almost certainly be different from that of his power partner, Aaron Judge.

The Yankees moved relatively quickly to re-sign him. Judge agrees to nine-year, $360 million deal after hitting 53 home runs in 2022. But Judge was always a Yankee, homegrown, who would soon be the captain.

Soto? He was a World Series champion at age 21, traded to the Washington Nationals when he was 23, and traded again to the Yankees before this season. It’s a lifetime of dizzying movements in just a few years.

And yes, the marriage was nearly perfect: Soto hit a career-high 41 home runs, posted a .989 OPS, gave Judge a run for his money for American League MVP and then dominated the postseason, with a .327 average, four home runs. , a 1.102 OPS and a pennant-clinching home run.

However, it all ended in Game 5 of the World Series, loss 7-6 to the Los Angeles Dodgers who pushed Soto out the door early Thursday morning.

His Yankee teammates desperately want him back. Soto?

“I think every team has the same opportunity when I enter free agency,” he said after Game 5 at Yankee Stadium.

But the excitement of New York, the tradition that comes with being a Yankee, the incredible partnership with Judge, the love he and his teammates say they feel in the local clubhouse – that creates the feeling that Soto would prefer New York, would you? TRUE?

“I don’t think so,” Soto said resolutely. “I am very happy with the city, with the team, but in the end we will analyze each situation, each offer we receive, and we will go from there.

“I don’t know what teams will want to pursue me, but I will be open to this and all teams. I don’t have closed doors or anything like that. “I will be available for all 30 teams.”

Okay, so the Tampa Bay Rays or Pittsburgh Pirates won’t try to get Soto. In reality, their market is no more than half a dozen teams, with clubs like San Francisco and Toronto still hungry to make a splash in free agency, Philadelphia is always a live dog and, as agent Scott Boras will tell the masses the next week in general conference. From manager meetings, a handful of mystery teams will emerge.

With that in mind, considering the Yankees one of only 30 might come as a bit of a shock to fans who fell in love with Soto this year and realize how important he is to their future.

Not to mention his teammates.

“We were lucky to have him here and it would be great to continue playing with him,” says Judge, who probably enjoyed his best season with Soto batting ahead of him.

“Because he is a special player. I think everyone in this room wants him back. Besides looking at the stats, it’s the type of leader he is in this clubhouse, a lot of the little things that people don’t notice that make him one of the best, if not the best, player in the game.

“He’s a scientist up there. “I would definitely love to see him in a pinstripe suit for quite some time.”

For now, Soto plans to sit with Team Boras and wait. Boras’ clients are known for signing well in the free agency process, and while Soto won’t need to miss as much of spring training as the so-called Boras four did this year, he’s willing to let the market come to him.

That’s not great news for the Yankees, who certainly knew they couldn’t make any preemptive strikes. As anticipated, the question for them is: how bad do they want it?

Fans made their voices heard, encouraging management with pleas to rehire Soto at various points this year. Did the chants affect you?

“It will probably affect the ownership decision,” Soto said with a laugh. “We’ll see how it goes.”

Judge says Soto should enjoy the free agent process and reap the rewards of six years of service that left him free. Fellow slugger Giancarlo Stanton, who signed a $325 million extension with Miami before a trade to New York, says he can’t offer Soto any advice as a free agent.

Well, maybe a bite.

“Stay with us, maybe?” asked.

It doesn’t hurt that the Yankees won 94 games and the American League pennant. Soto will likely go with the highest bidder, but also with a winning franchise (the two things are often correlated) and New York has an advantage in that department over suitors like the Giants and Blue Jays.

But next month, everyone will be on a level playing field until offers are made, countered and considered.

“It’s always great to take a champagne shower,” he says of the idea of returning to finish work in New York. We’ll see what happens in the offseason.

“The Yankees are one of the teams. And we’ll go from there.”

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