Insider: Yankees Change Offer to Juan Soto as Mets Interest Continues

The New York Yankees have upped their initial offer to Juan Soto as the star outfielder has interest from several teams.

According to MLB insider Jon Heyman, the Yankees have upped their bid for Soto as interest from the New York Mets and other teams has picked up.

“The Yankees upgraded their initial bid within the past couple of days to superstar free agent outfielder Juan Soto, perhaps improving their position in a free agent sweepstakes that involves at least five big-market teams, according to people familiar with the situation,” Heyman wrote in his New York Post article.

“The incumbent Yankees are making clear their resolve to try to retain their top target, but they also understand that the well-watched derby is only in the middle innings,” Heyman added. “The situation remains fluid and any of four or more other interested teams still has a chance to win the prize of the winter.”

Heyman says the new offer from the Yankees to Soto includes multiple opt-outs in his contract.

---

Yankees Have Good Meeting With Soto

The Yankees were one of the few teams who had a meeting with Soto and his agent Scott Boras.

Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner said the meeting with Soto was ‘good’ which inlcuded ‘very honest back-and-forth dialogue.’

Following the meeting, Steinbrenner said the Yankees are focused on re-signing the star outfielder.

“Our fans really enjoyed having him in New York,” Steinbrenner said. “He’s definitely a significant part of why we got to the World Series. I’ve got ears. I know what’s expected of me. So, look, it’s been a priority. We wouldn’t have gone out to the West Coast if it wasn’t.”

Although Steinbrenner says the Yankees are hopeful they will re-sign Soto, he isn’t sure if that will happen.

“No idea,” Steinbrenner said. “We’ll be in the mix. I’ll leave it at that.”

Soto is a four-time All-Star and hit .288 with 41 home runs and 109 RBIs.

---

What Will Soto Get in Free Agency?

Soto is the top free agent available in free agency and will get a massive deal.

MLBTradeRumors predicted Soto will sign a 13-year $600 million deal in free agency.

“There’s little doubt Soto will sign a contract of at least a decade in length. The question becomes one of how long a team will be willing to go at what figures to be a new record average annual value (setting aside Shohei Ohtani’s overwhelmingly deferred $700MM contract, which came with an NPV closer to $43.7MM, using the MLBPA’s number),” the article read.

“A 12-year deal would pay Soto through age-37, but it’s not out of the question that a team will go later into his career than that,” the article added. “The Yankees guaranteed Judge $40MM annually through his age-39 season. Soto and agent Scott Boras already rejected a reported 15-year, $440MM extension offer from the Nationals  in 2021, before he was traded to the Padres. Soto has since pocketed $54MM in arbitration and now seems a lock to top the $386MM remainder. His historic bet on himself has paid off, and Boras will now surely be taking aim at both a precedent-setting average annual value and guarantee.”

Soto could even push upwards of $700 million in free agency if there is a bidding war for the superstar outfielder.

0 Comments