When Gerrit Cole and DJ LeMahieu are ready to return, the New York Yankees will have some big decisions to make. They also have to decide whether to sign outfielder Juan Soto to a long term deal or let him become a free agent.
Soto is in his first year with the Yankees after being acquired in a trade with the San Diego Padres in the offseason. He will become a free agent after this season if he doesn’t re-sign. On Thursday, Soto said that he was open to having contract talks.
”My door has always been open,” Soto said. “Whenever he wants to start talking with Scott [Boras] and all those people, they’re always open to hear whatever he has. For me, I just focus on the game right now. My thing is try to help the team to win as much games as we can and try to focus on winning a championship. I think that’s what [Steinbrenner] would want me to do at the end of the day, just focus on playing baseball and try to win games. But if he wants to talk about it, he can call Scott.”
While Soto is open to having contract talks, the Yankees want him to be there long-term. Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner wants Soto to be a Yankee for life.
“We'd like to see him here for the rest of his career. I don't think there's any doubt in that. His agent, Scott, doesn't tend to do deals in the middle of the season. Neither do I. I think it can be a distraction," Steinbrenner told the YES Network. “But as I said in spring training ... this is a unique situation and a very unique player, so I wouldn't be shocked if there was a conversation or two had possibly during the course of a season. I think it's worth doing at some point."
The Yankees need to sign Soto to a long term deal immediately. Soto has been a great addition to the Yankees, is a fan favorite, and is only 25 years old. He is hitting .302 with nine home runs, 34 RBIs, and a .920 OPS this season. In addition to performing well, Soto has helped turn the Yankees into the second-best offense in Major League Baseball, behind only the Los Angeles Dodgers. They are fourth in the majors in OPS with a .749 OPS. Soto has helped relieve pressure from Aaron Judge and can help the Yankees win their first World Series title since 2009.
If the Yankees were to give Soto a long-term deal, it would be massive. The deal would probably be for more than $500 million; it could even reach $600 million or more. While the Yankees would be able to afford that, there aren’t a lot of teams that could, and Soto would be a hot commodity if he became a free agent. Soto can help the Yankees get back to their championship-winning ways, and they might not win a championship again if they lose him. He needs to stay a Yankee.
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