At this point, the Yankees have plenty to be worried about here in 2024 as they seek to close out with two strong months and prep for what they hope will be a World Series run. Being concerned about the future of the team’s free agents—and there are many—is not a luxury the team can afford just now, not as the lineup and starting rotation need to get themselves in order.
But it will be the most important issue in MLB once the Yankees’ run does come to an end. That’s because Juan Soto, the star the Yankees traded for from San Diego last winter, will be on the market and the Yankees will be under pressure to keep him in place.
There will be competition, and everyone knows where most of that competition will come from—the crosstown rival Mets, who have long had eyes on Soto and attempted to trade for him when he was in Washington.
At Bleacher Report, analyst Tyler Ward is predicting that, in the end, the Yankees will be outbid for Soto by the Mets. As he stated, “Juan Soto is going to be a New York Metropolitan.”
Juan Soto Has Been Stellar This Season
Soto has been dynamic this season for the Yankees, hitting .310 with 28 home runs and a career-high OPS of 1.035. He has fit well into the clubhouse and has provided a jolt of enthusiasm coming off last season moribund performance from the Yankees.
It would sting for the Yankees to lose him. But the Mets could be ready to outbid the Bombers this winter. It won’t be cheap—in an ESPN poll of MLB execs in June, half projected Soto to get between $500-$600 million.
“If you don’t think that the Mets are going to be unbelievably, heavily involved in that market, I’ve got a bridge to sell you,” Ward said. “Juan Soto has been a target of the Mets going back to his time with the Washington Nationals. The Mets offered a package including … some of their key young assets and Mike Rizzo of the Nationals said no. Juan Soto has been a target of the Mets for years, he thrives at Citi Field, he loves New York, we’re seeing it with the Bronx Bombers right now.
“Unless the Yankees win it all this season … I don’t believe that (Yankees owner Hal) Steinbrenner will go to the length or the dollars that Steve Cohen will.”
Yankees Could Be Outbid by the Mets
Of course, rumors about Soto and the Mets have been cropping up since the spring, once it became clear that Soto would not be signing a contract extension with the Yankees and would hit free agency. The Yankees gave up a strong package to get Soto, along with Trent Grisham, for Jhony Brito, Kyle Higashioka, Michael King, Drew Thorpe and Randy Vásquez.
Losing him with nothing coming in return would painful.
Back in March, Jon Heyman of the New York Post raised the possibility of the Mets landing Soto. He wrote, “Folks around the game are suggesting that after a year on practical free-agent hiatus, Steve Cohen’s Mets may become the biggest competitor for Soto’s services. (I first wrote about this possibility Dec. 7, and whispers are getting louder, so it’s worth repeating.)”
The rumors have been out there. Soto seems to have enjoyed his time with the Yankees, so the assumption would be that they’d have an advantage in keeping him. But will they pay as much as the Mets?
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Yankees Predicted to Lose Juan Soto in Free Agency to Hated Rival