As the New York Yankees actively pursue their first World Series title in more than a decade, MLB rumors are already looking ahead to the winter. Juan Soto will be the most coveted player in MLB free agency and there have been plenty of Yankees rumors already about where things might be headed.
New York is going to face significant competition for the perennial MVP candidate. Only 26 years old this winter, Soto is just entering the prime of his career and his game should age nicely over the next decade-plus. It further inflates his earning power, especially considering the clubs that could get involved.
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- Juan Soto stats (ESPN): .288/.419/.569, .989 OPS, 41 home runs, 109 RBI, 166 hits in 576 at-bats
The Yankees will certainly face competition from the New York Mets and Los Angeles Dodgers, while clubs like the Toronto Blue Jays, Philadelphia Phillies and San Francisco Giants have already been tied to Soto in MLB rumors. With so many big-market clubs involved, Soto will land one of the largest contracts in baseball history.
It’s led to some suggesting that New York will put a cap on its final contract offer to SOto, refusing to go past the $40 million per season mark. While that would still allow him to become one of the highest-paid MLB players, it would fall well short of the $50-plus million per season salaries other teams will throw out.
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That idea stemmed from a belief that offering Soto more than $40-plus million annually would insult Aaron Judge and cause issues with the American League MVP. However, a source close to the matter told Jon Heyman of the New York Post that a $40 million cap on the Yankees’ offer to Soto is a lie.
It would’ve been absurd for New York to limit itself like that, especially since it would open the door for teams like the Mets and Blue Jays to easily outbid the Yankees. Furthermore, as Heyman notes, Judge is a team-first player and his sole focus now is on helping the Yankees win championships with the best roster possible.
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So, while the Yankees might have to get into an uncomfortable bidding war for Soto, it’s pretty evident that ownership won’t put severe restrictions on how much the front office can spend on him. In the end, this will likely be a two-team race between the Mets and Yankees.