The Juan Soto sweepstakes is underway. This week, preliminary offers were expected to funnel in, a league source told The Athletic. As the competition thins, more serious offers are expected to come through next week. A decision sometime around the Winter Meetings in early December doesn’t seem farfetched.
The New York Yankees are among the teams that met this month with Soto and his representatives at a hotel near the headquarters of the Boras Corporation in Newport Beach, Calif. They badly want to retain him.
Here are three questions likely still lingering in their minds:
How much money is enough?
It’s the (multi-) million-dollar question. Look, only agent Scott Boras knows the minimum of what Soto will be willing to accept. Remember that he turned down $440 million over 15 years ($29.3 million per year) from the Washington Nationals in 2022 and that he made a salary arbitration-record $31 million from the Yankees in 2024, his last season before free agency. He’s going to ask for a lot of money. Probably an all-time record contract.
The Athletic’s Tim Britton projected that Soto could earn $611 million over 13 years. That would take Soto through his age-39 season. Aaron Judge’s $360 million, nine-year deal takes him through age 39. Judge has already said he wouldn’t care if he makes less than Soto. “It ain’t my money,” he told reporters last week. Would Soto want to play deeper into his career than Judge? Would he want more than a $46 million average annual value — the amount Shohei Ohtani is making from the Los Angeles Dodgers after factoring in the deferrals in his 10-year, $700 million deal?
Boras appears to be selling Soto not as a baseball player, but as a luxury item.
“You have the Mona Lisa of the museum,” Boras said at the GM meetings. “You have the attraction. You also have somebody that allows more owners to win repeatedly. When owners win repeatedly, the revenues skyrocket. They develop the impact of postseason play, attendance, on rights and in the streaming world what those rights may mean. All of those things are going to generate. Plus the international branding of being one of the greats.”
Last season, Soto finished with 8.1 fWAR. With the estimation that 1 WAR equals approximately $8 million, FanGraphs projected that Soto’s on-field performance was worth $65.1 million — the fourth-most in the sport, behind Judge ($89.7 million), Bobby Witt Jr. ($83 million) and Ohtani ($72.6 million). Add in the Yankees’ marketing machine, and how much more valuable does he become to the franchise if they sign him for presumably the remainder of his playing career?
JUAN SOTO THREE RUN HOME RUN IN THE 10TH!!!!!!!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/Tj4b5CuM4T
— Talkin’ Yanks (@TalkinYanks) October 20, 2024
What else does Soto want?
A league source told The Athletic that Soto mentioned to Hal Steinbrenner during their meeting that he wants a close connection with the owner of his next team. Steinbrenner said essentially the same while speaking at the owners’ meetings in Manhattan last week. Steinbrenner and Soto did meet privately near the clubhouse at Yankee Stadium over the summer. Soto was close to the late owners of his two previous teams, the Washington Nationals (Ted Lerner) and the San Diego Padres (Peter Seidler).
“We didn’t get to know each other that well,” Steinbrenner said. “I was told he is someone who when he is in the clubhouse, he’s in a zone like no other. With players like that, I just don’t like interrupting that process and pulling someone aside, dragging them into (manager Aaron) Boone’s office to have conversations. But we did talk about that. Should he be back next year, I made it clear the type of relationship I would like, the type of relationship I have with Gerrit (Cole) and with Aaron Judge. That message was conveyed.”
Steinbrenner added that Soto also asked about the Yankees’ player development system and which prospects they have on the way. Soto had a chance to spend the playoffs on the same roster as Yankees top prospect Jasson Domínguez, who figures to be in the lead to start in left field if Soto re-signs. It’s also believed that Soto, a Dominican Republic native, wants to stay on the East Coast.
Another thing to consider: Soto appeared to develop a strong bond with Yankees fans at Yankee Stadium, sometimes hearing chants of “Re-sign Soto!” multiple times a game. It didn’t seem like lip service when he spoke about how much he loved playing with the Yankees, his teammates and the fans. Unless the Mets’ offer blows away the Yankees’, wouldn’t it be a little strange for Soto to switch allegiances to the Yankees’ crosstown rival and become forever hated by the fan base that embraced him, which also happens to be the biggest fan base not just in the city but in the entire sport?
What would they add to Soto?
Judge said immediately after the World Series he spent time in Tampa, Fla., where the Yankees have their player development complex and where Steinbrenner lives. Judge said he met with Steinbrenner and they talked about Soto and other things, including other players Judge thinks highly of.
If the Yankees re-sign Soto, they can’t stop there. They have holes at first base and second base, and question marks in the rotation and bullpen. Third base and left field may also be undecided.
At this point, the Yankees are already well underway in their free agent shopping, just like every other team in the majors. At the GM meetings, Brian Cashman said he touched base with Boras about Pete Alonso. It’s expected that Christian Walker and Willy Adames will also be on their radar.
The Yankees should have the money to sign Soto and to add more — especially after reaching the World Series for the first time since 2009.
(Photo: Jayne Kamin-Oncea / Imagn Images)
