The New York Yankees have finally righted the ship after a rough couple of months, and are tied atop the AL East with the Baltimore Orioles. Juan Soto has much to do with that, as the generational star is slashing .307/.438/.615 with 34 homers and 87 RBI.
However, Soto's contract runs out at the end of the season, and the Yankees will have to fend off several teams vying for his services, via MLB Network's Jon Heyman.
“The [Toronto] Blue Jays are [the] number five [landing spot] for me,” Heyman said. “I'm leaning heavily on the teams that were willing to spend for [Shohei] Ohtani, and the Jays are certainly willing to spend. They want to win, they have the wherewithal to do it. So for me, even though they're five, they're still 25-to-one, I gave odds. They did try for Soto by trade, they're one of those teams that did that as well, so we know they like him, they love the offense combined with Vlad [Guerrero Jr.] and all that, so Jays are number five.”
While the consensus is that both New York teams are the frontrunners for Soto this winter, the Blue Jays can't be counted out. Soto paired with Guerrero would be dangerous, and Toronto wants to go in a new direction after blowing up this year's squad. Signing the 25-year-old to a long-term deal would put them right back in contention.
“Number four for me are the Giants, and we know they've tried for a big star for three years,” Heyman continued. “[Giancarlo] Stanton, [Aaron] Judge, Ohtani, they were all-in on Ohtani. [Bryce] Harper, absolutely. And they also made a play for Soto in the trade market but didn't get him. Wasn't gonna be likely, he was with the [San Diego] Padres, they probably weren't gonna send him to San Francisco. You know, I think they have some hurdles obviously, with a tough ballpark to hit in. But you know, 20-to-one is the number four choice.”
The Giants have been a shell of themselves since going 107-55 in 2021. The team is in desperate need of star power, especially after Judge spurned them in the 11th hour after visiting them during his 2022 free agency. San Francisco won't be on the inside track but expect it to be a part of the sweepstakes.
Heyman's third team, though, may be the most surprising.
The Yankees can't be cocky about Juan Soto's free agency
Heyman's third squad has already moved heaven on earth to assemble a star-studded squad.
“Number three, I have the [Los Angeles] Dodgers,” Heyman explained. “Very desirable team, the stars have wanted to go there. Don't know what the limit is, they've spent, but you never know. I'm not betting against the Dodgers. Well, it's 15-to-one, so maybe I am…Again, all these teams are long shots that aren't in the top two.”
The Dodgers already have over $1 billion alone tied up in Ohtani's and pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto's contracts. That's not to mention other stars like Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman rounding out the squad as well.
Los Angeles, though, could theoretically move money around to make space for Soto, as well. It would be a challenge, but the key is to stay under the 2025 luxury tax threshold of $241 million to avoid a financial penalty. The Dodgers are on the hook to pay $236.3 million in salary next year, which is second only to the Philadelphia Phillies, via Spotrac.
“Number two is the Mets. Alright, five-to-one for the Mets,” Heyman continued. “Obviously Steve Cohen is there, he can afford it. He wants to win badly, we know that. Their offense is good, but they've got some issues in the outfield, they keep acquiring outfielders. To take him from the Yankees, that would be enormous. I think people are anticipating that the Mets will make the biggest offer. Do they get him, we shall see.”
Steve Cohen hasn't been stingy with his money since buying the team in 2020, acquiring stars such as Francisco Lindor, Max Scherzer, and Justin Verlander. While the latter two are no longer on the team, it still shows the owner's aggressiveness and hunger to compete.
With infamous business shark Scott Boras being Soto's agent, expect the two to use the Mets as leverage in negotiations with the Yankees, similar to how Judge used the Giants in 2022. If the Yankees aren't careful, though, Soto could switch boroughs.
“Number one is obvious. It's the Yankees, and I have them at even money, so 50-50 to keep him,” Heyman concluded. “There's a lot going for the Yankees here. Obviously, he's got the adulation, the tradition, the location, plus Aaron Judge batting behind him. It's working out great so far, he's second in basically every category right now and certainly Judge is a help there. It was interesting to see that they intentionally walked Soto to get to Judge, I never thought I'd see that.”
Soto has had a fairy-tale Yankee tenure so far, settling into a Scottie Pippen-like role as Judge continues to break records. Both players are tied atop the MLB with 102 walks each, while Soto leads with 103 runs.
It'll be a hard sell for any team to convince Soto to leave the pinstripes, but everything has a price.
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