A prominent MLB insider believes that the New York Yankees won’t pay whatever cost is necessary to re-sign Juan Soto in the offseason and that there is a cutoff point.
Entering the MLB games today, despite losing two out of three over the weekend to rivals the Boston Red Sox, the Yankees still own the best record in baseball at 51-24. The team has had an outstanding start to the season and many players deserve credit, however, there is no denying the massive impact Juan Soto has had on their success.
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The former Padres and Nationals star leads the league in on-base percentage and is top 10 or better in average, slugging percentage, home runs, and runs-batted, not just in the American League but in all of MLB. The 26-year-old is having a career year just in time for a huge jump into free agency after this season.
- Juan Soto stats (2024): .315 AVG, .433 OBP, .592 SLG, 18 HR, 55 RBI, 58 R
All indications are the Yankees badly want to hold onto the outfielder, however, he and his agent Scott Boras fully intend to test his value on the open market. Late last year, former Los Angeles Angels star Shohei Ohtani received $700 million from the Los Angeles Dodgers and some around the league believe Soto could get a deal that might exceed $600 million.
However, while the New York Yankees are one of the wealthiest teams in baseball, USA Today MLB insider Bob Nightengale believes there is a price demand Juan Soto could make that would be too much for the organization to pay.
“I think if Aaron Judge had said ‘I’ve got to have over $400 million’ they would have said see you later,” Nightengale told Sportsnaut. “I think there’s a point there [where it becomes too much]. Let’s be honest. If Soto was doing what he’s doing in New York in San Diego, San Diego would have kept him. [He] underperformed there. Put up big-time numbers when they were out of the race, but was very disappointing in his time there. Which Juan Soto are you getting? A lot of guys put up being numbers in their walk year.”
While that certainly doesn’t paint a positive picture about the Yankees’ chances of re-signing Soto, Nightengale does not believe there will be quite the same bidding war for Soto that drove the price sky high for Ohtani.
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“Beside the Yankees and Mets, who’s going to bid on this guy? Could the Giants? Maybe, but they don’t want to be used. I don’t see anyone else,” he said. “If you’re the Yankees, are you going to give him much more than $360 million? That’s Aaron Judge’s contract. The face of the franchise, arguably, the best player in baseball. The Mets could come in for a higher figure. It’s not a bidding war. Only a couple of teams will be involved. It’s like having a mansion in a midsize neighborhood. How many people can afford this thing?”
The big question is how high will New York go to keep the outfielder in the Bronx. Based on Nightengale’s assessment, $600 million is out of the question. Will they pay $500 million, which is well over $100 million more than they have invested in Judge, who already has the richest contract in team history? This will be an interesting winter.
