The “Juan Soto sweepstakes” are dominating baseball, and properly so. How often do you see a 26-year-old generational player hit free agency before his prime years have even begun?
Soto has already had in-person introductions with the Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, Toronto Blue Jays, New York Mets, and New York Yankees. He also has an upcoming meeting with the Philadelphia Phillies.
ESPN’s Jesse Rogers recently questioned 18 MLB executives and insiders regarding the upcoming free agent market. There were two questions concerning Soto. They were questioned where Soto would sign and whether he would land a deal worth more than $600 million. The poll results were extremely interesting. It revealed 11 votes in favor of Soto receiving a contract worth more than $600 million, and seven votes against. Soto also received 12 votes for signing with the Yankees, four for the Mets, and two for the Blue Jays.
The rationale for these findings was straightforward. The Steinbrenner family does not lose bidding battles for their stars. “A common belief from our respondents was that the Yankees will match (or come close enough to matching) any number agent Scott Boras brings them to keep Soto in pinstripes,” according to Rogers. “The message from our insiders was clear: the Yankees do not let stars depart. That occurs with other teams.”
I predicted a few weeks ago that Soto would sign with the Yankees for between $630 million and $675 million. I don’t see him going into the $700 million bracket. But wouldn’t it be awesome if his deal began with a big seven?
