As the wise philosopher Ricky Bobby once said, “if you ain't first, you're last.” This was certainly how the New York Yankees felt as they witnessed their World Series dreams come crumbling down, with the Los Angeles Dodgers securing a 4-1 series win with a rousing come from behind 7-6 win last Wednesday. But the road ahead could be an even more difficult one for the Yankees, as they will be heading into another war this offseason as they look to retain the services of star slugger Juan Soto.
The Yankees have never been shy to spend more than the opposition, at least historically-speaking. But over the past few years, the Yankees have been fiscally-responsible relative to other spending powerhouses such as the Dodgers and New York Mets. While keeping Soto is their number one priority, they will be limited in the moves that they can make before the star right fielder puts pen to paper on a new contract.
According to Buster Olney of ESPN, the Yankees' “massive obligations” to both Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton means that they simply cannot allocate their funds to improving the other parts of the roster until Soto makes his final decision in free agency. If Soto walks, that opens up a ton of their budget to potentially address other positions; but if Soto stays, they are much more limited in how they can spread the wealth up and down the roster.
The Yankees cannot let Juan Soto be the Juan that got away
It's hard to imagine the Yankees achieving as much as they did in 2024 had it not for the addition of Juan Soto. Soto and Aaron Judge have unlocked a higher level from each other — a middle of the order partnership that should instill fear in opposing pitchers for years to come, provided, of course, that Soto stays in the Bronx.
Soto is expected to command interest from the richest teams in the league, namely the Dodgers, Mets, Toronto Blue Jays, and San Francisco Giants — the usual suspects for a generational free-agent talent. These are the same teams that vied for last year's grand free agency prize, Shohei Ohtani, although the Yankees will not want to let Soto go to the team that beat them in the World Series.
Losing Soto won't be an unmitigated disaster for the Yankees, but it's as close as it can be to being one. He has been everything the team has needed from a complementary star hitter alongside Judge, and he's right in the middle of the prime years of his career — making him the rare free agent who could be worth more than the contract he ends up signing.
It will take a massive turn of events for the Yankees to lose out on Soto, even though the 26-year-old right fielder is looking forward to enjoying the process of being courted as this year's most sought-after free agent. But New York will be hoping that a resolution comes quickly, so they could easily pivot in case they lose him.
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