The New York Yankees have more serious problems to deal with right now. They may have won the AL East division title, but they understand that the task is far from over. The Yankees haven’t won a World Series in 15 years, and they’re hoping to restore their place at the top of the MLB. However, it is never too early to consider their free agency ambitions, particularly when it comes to standout slugger Juan Soto.
Soto has been all the Yankees hoped for and more since they traded for him from the San Diego Padres this offseason. He has created an electrifying connection with Aaron Judge in the middle of the order, and his 41 home runs and 126 RBIs would have been enough to win MVP if it hadn’t been for Judge’s historic 2024 season. However, Soto is set to become a free agent at the end of this season.
The Yankees have never been shy about spending money. They are anticipated to offer the 25-year-old right fielder the contract he wants, and he will be well worth the money given his youth and elite track record of performance. But, according to Jon Heyman of the New York Post, the Yankees’ crosstown foe, the New York Mets, will be seeking to play spoiler.
“Early hints suggest the Mets will indeed play for Juan Soto,” according to Heyman.
An executive Heyman spoke with believes the Mets have the best chance of enticing Juan Soto away from the Yankees.
“It’s the Yankees, then the Mets, and everyone else,” the unnamed executive speculated.
Under new ownership, the Mets have not been reluctant to spend big money to sign stars in free agency. However, it is telling that they have thrived following offseasons in which they did not spend foolishly on every player they encountered. But Juan Soto is not the ordinary free agent. He’ll only be 26 years old at the start of next year, and he’ll still have plenty of productive years left in his career, giving him the strongest contender to obtain a contract comparable to Shohei Ohtani’s.
The Yankees must go all out to keep Juan Soto.
Teams seldom encounter 25-year-olds who have already accumulated 36.3 WAR (per Fangraphs) in their careers. Juan Soto was a productive major leaguer when he was 18, and he continues to grow. In fact, Soto is having a career year in terms of power, and he remains one of the best at getting on base, making him one of the most difficult hitters to eliminate in the MLB.
Some pairings are simply generational, and his collaboration with Aaron Judge is one of them. The Yankees should do everything it takes to keep Soto in town, since the two improve each other and the entire team.
Soto might command nearly as much money as Ohtani received from the Los Angeles Dodgers this winter, and the Yankees should once again exercise their financial muscle. In recent years, they have been more cautious about spending in free agency, but they should have no reservations about going all in on keeping Soto.
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