A notable New York Yankees insider believes there is a northeast team that is a serious threat to sign Juan Soto this winter, but it’s not the New York Mets.
After a horrible July and early August, the Yankees enter the MLB games today a half-game out from the best record in baseball. Without a doubt, Aaron Judge and his march to a second American League MVP award is a huge reason for that. But Juan Soto is an equally important part of New York’s success.
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He has played at an elite level all year and it is why the speculation about his future has been a story following the team the entire season. The 25-year-old will hit the open market this offseason and there is talk he is a near lock to get a deal worth over a half billion dollars. However, it would seem like very few teams could offer such a deal.
It’s exactly why crosstown rivals the Mets and their billionaire owner Steve Cohen have always been seen as the biggest threat to the Yanks’ effort to re-sign Soto. Well, The Athletic Yankees report Chris Kirshner suggested on Tuesday there is a different regional team they should worry about. The Washington Nationals.
Juan Soto stats (2024): .296 AVG, .427 OBP, .600 SLG, 37 HR, 95 RBI, 108 R
Are the Nationals the Yankees’ biggest threat to re-signing Juan Soto?
“With starting pitcher Patrick Corbin’s $25 million coming off the books for the Nationals and a team loaded with pre-arbitration and arbitration-eligible players, Washington’s payroll is currently projected by Cot’s Contracts to be only $60 million for 2025,” Kirshner wrote. “The Nats have spent lavishly in free agency in the past and would be wise to pursue Soto, who’s only spoken glowingly of the franchise where he won a World Series in 2019.
“With his age, he also fits the timeline of the Nationals’ young core. Soto has mentioned on several occasions how heartbroken he was when the Nationals, after he rejected their $440 million long-term contract offer, traded him to the San Diego Padres in 2022.”
While the Nats own a 59-73 record this season, there is a belief in and outside the organization that the team is on the cusp of a serious resurgence led by a slew of talented prospects. Bringing Soto back to be the anchor of that makes a lot of sense.
And that previous positive experience he has with the franchise could also give them a unique advantage in his free agent sweepstakes.