Getty The New York Yankees will be one of many teams trying to get Juan Soto to sign a long-term deal.
The New York Yankees are off to a hot start in 2024. They began the season with a four-game sweep of the Houston Astros. They followed that up with a series win over the Arizona Diamondbacks.
While still very early, the Yankees, 6-2, sit atop the AL East through April 4. The Yankees’ success in large part is due to the addition of Juan Soto. Soto is a free agent after this season and the Yankees have “an excellent chance,” to keep Soto, according to the New York Post’s Jon Heyman.
“They should have an excellent chance. It’s the New York Yankees,” said Heyman during an April 5 appearance on Around the Bases. “They have the highest revenue. I know their payroll is third right now. I would say the Mets, Dodgers and Yankees. They’re one of three teams over that fourth-tier so-called Steve Cohen luxury tax. I mean maybe next year it’ll be called the Hal Steinbrenner tax. I think they’re going to have to pay him and they’re going to have to keep him.”
Soto is projected to earn a 12-year, $408 million deal in free agency, according to Spotrac. At the plate, Soto has been leading the way for the Yankees. Soto is slashing .303/.395/.424 in eight games this season. The 25-year-old, who the Yankees acquired from the San Diego Padres in a seven-player trade, has been as advertised.
Juan Soto’s Free Agency Desires
Soto has already established himself as one of the best players in the majors. He is already a three-time All-Star and four-time Silver Slugger. He signed a $31 million contract this offseason, setting the record for an arbitration-eligible player.
Soto will enter free agency after the 2024 season, barring an extension. Soto wants to sign a long-term deal and “just finish in that one spot,” according to ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez.
Whether it’s the Yankees or someplace else, Soto does not want to test the market again. He mentioned his former teammates Bryce Harper, Trea Turner, Xander Bogaerts and Manny Machado, who all signed long-term deals, when discussing his desires, according to Gonzalez.
“Long contracts,” Soto said, “because they know they’re going to finish their career right there. Anything can happen in the future. Maybe they get traded. But that’s going to be on them if they want to get traded, instead of going to free agency and trying the market again. They just know they’re going to be there for a long time.”
Harper signed a 13-year deal with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2019. Turner signed an 11-year deal, also with the Phillies, in 2022. Bogaerts signed an 11-year deal with the Padres in 2022. Machado followed with his own 11-year deal in 2023.
Yankees Will Not Be the Only Suitors for Soto
The Yankees have the advantage of already having Soto in the Bronx when it comes to his free agency. However, the Yankees have not “attempted to even explore what it might take to get an extension done,” according to NJ.com’s Randy Miller.
“Our expectation is that he’s going to go into free agency,” general manager Brian Cashman said on March 16, according to Miller. “We’ve been transparent with that. Obviously, if something changed on that we wouldn’t create a party line with it. It’d be something that I’m sure that would just happen, but right now we haven’t had any conversations.”
According to Heyman, the Mets will be the team with the best chance to “steal him away.”
“Steve Cohen has the most money, ultimately, even if he doesn’t have the highest revenue. To me, that’s the team that’s got the best chance probably to steal him away,” Heyman said.
Heyman noted that he thinks it’s difficult to leave the Yankees for a slugger like Soto due to the hitter-friendly nature of the ballpark. While the Yankees have not had extension talks with the young superstar, Soto, represented by Scott Boras, has not shot down the idea and is “willing to listen,” wrote Miller.
“The Yankees obviously are going to give it a big shot and give it their best,” said Heyman.