Featured Columnist IVNovember 6, 2024
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New York Yankees normal supervisor Brian Cashman indicated Wednesday that he’s ready to make a powerful play to retain celebrity outfielder Juan Soto in free company.
Based on the Related Press (h/t ESPN), Soto acknowledged that whereas different choices can be found to him in free company, he intends to do all he can with the intention to preserve Soto in pinstripes:
“We definitely have an curiosity in retaining him and we’ll put our greatest foot ahead there. That can both result in us retaining him and signing him again or we’ll be pressured to go to a unique course if we will not. And if we will not, there’s a whole lot of completely different gamers on this market that may positively influence this roster in several methods. Clearly that stress level’s not on us at this time, but it surely does exist within the market each winter, so these are the powerful choices you need to make.”
The Yankees acquired Soto in a blockbuster commerce with the San Diego Padres final offseason, and he went on to have arguably the perfect season of his profession, main the Yanks to a World Collection look.
In his solely season with the Yankees up to now, Soto slashed .288/.419/.569 with 41 dwelling runs, 109 RBI and 128 runs scored. He additionally hit .327 with 4 homers and 9 RBI in 14 playoff video games.
Soto is more likely to end third within the American League MVP voting behind teammate Aaron Decide and Kansas Metropolis Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr., and he’s more likely to take dwelling a Silver Slugger Award as nicely.
The benchmark for MLB contracts presently is the 10-year, $700 million deal Shohei Ohtani signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers final offseason.
Whereas it might be tough for Soto to succeed in that quantity for the reason that Dodgers signed Ohtani primarily based on each his hitting and pitching, Soto only recently turned 26 years outdated, so his age may work in his favor.
The Yankees confirmed a willingness to pay up with the intention to preserve a celebrity final offseason, re-signing Decide on a nine-year, $360 million contract.
They already let a number of different notable gamers hit free company, together with Gleyber Torres, Clay Holmes, Tommy Kahnle, Alex Verdugo and Anthony Rizzo, which suggests the Yankees could also be build up a battle chest of funds to make use of on a brand new Soto deal.
Cashman has been in talks with Scott Boras, who just isn’t solely Soto’s agent, but in addition that of first baseman Pete Alonso, who Cashman admitted to discussing.
Alonso would undoubtedly be the highest backup plan out there in free company if the Yankees cannot re-sign Soto, as the previous New York Mets slugger has crushed 226 dwelling runs in six MLB seasons, together with 34 in 2024.
Whereas Alonso would supply Decide with some strong safety within the Yankees’ lineup, the mix of Decide and Soto was arguably the perfect one-two punch in baseball this previous season.
Apart from cash and the chance to win, Decide’s presence may conceivably be the largest draw for Soto to stay with the Yanks.
It’s seemingly that solely a restricted quantity of groups can afford to pay Soto the kind of compensation he’s searching for and deserves, and even fewer can present him with safety the extent of Decide, who has hit a mixed 157 dwelling runs over the previous three seasons.
There’s little doubt that re-signing Soto is the Yankees’ greatest path to success in 2025 and past, and Cashman seems able to make an enormous run at retaining the Soto-Decide duo collectively.
