Analyst Suggests Yankees Are ‘Set Up’ to Sign Juan Soto

Getty The New York Yankees could sign Juan Soto to a long-term deal in free agency

The New York Yankees are off to a strong start in 2024. Their 15-8 record is second to just the Baltimore Orioles in the American League. Juan Soto has been a key proponent in the club’s early success. Soto will be a free agent for the first time after the 2024 season. The Yankees are “set up” to give Soto a good deal to keep him in the Bronx, according to Jomboy Media’s Jimmy O’Brien.

“I think he’s got the marketability. The crowd’s going to love him and the skill. It’s already rubbing off on some of the younger players the Yankees have. That’s a good guy to be a leader on the field leading by example,” said O’Brien during an April 22 appearance on MLB Network. “They have got a lot of money coming off the books this year so they’re set up financially as well to give him a decent deal.”

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Soto is slashing .337/.456/.578 in 22 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. Soto is projected to earn a 12-year, $408 million deal in free agency, according to Spotrac.

Soto’s Free Agent Market

At his age, paired with his accolades, Soto will be the hottest name in free agency. 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.

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 the New York Post’s Jon Heyman, the New York 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 during an April 5 appearance on Around the Bases.

The Yankees will have many key players entering free agency after the season ends. Anthony Rizzo, Alex Verdugo and Gleyber Torres are potential players who could sign elsewhere if the Yankees decide to go all in for Soto.

“They have $90 million coming off the books this year. If it’s $40 million a year they can figure it out. They’re just going to have to get smarter and leaner in the other places,” O’Brien said.

Soto’s Free Agency Desires

Barring an extension, Soto will test free agency after the season ends. 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.