It’s no secret that Juan Soto is the biggest fish in this year’s pool of MLB free agents.
But how many teams are willing to make a splash that big?
Speaking at the annual GM Meetings in San Antonio, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman was asked about the Soto sweepstakes, and specifically how the cross-town Mets could be a destination for Soto, who hit 41 home runs and drove in 109 runs after being acquired in a trade from the San Diego Padres.
“It’s hard to say. I mean, I know they want to win,” Cashman said. “They’re in a large market with us. They had a taste of success this year and they want to move the needle even more forward. So, the best way to do that is to import quality players to what you already have. So that’s what we, they, and anybody interested in winning and being the last team standing, that’s what it’s all about is trying to find great players and add it to your mix.”
It’s still so early in the offseason that it’s hard to tell exactly which teams will seriously be in on Soto, but it’s safe to assume that the big-market clubs like the Yankees, Mets, and Dodgers will be involved.
According to Cashman, though, it’s not just the big-market teams that could try to reel Soto in.
“I think that’s just the nature of the beast, and big market owners with deep pockets aren’t the only ones signing players to big deals,” Cashman said. “I mean, you’ve seen the San Diego Padres sitting out on the West Coast, they’ve imported a lot of big-time players with big-time contracts that they’ve outcompeted other teams of interest for. It comes in various forms in various cities at various times. The market on a year-in and year-out basis is strong from all different aspects of the baseball universe. We do our best to compete with whomever on a year-in and year-out basis.”
In terms of Soto, most projections have the outfielder netting a contract somewhere in the 12-13 year range worth somewhere in the $600 million range.
Soto, a four-time All-Star, is considered a generational talent, and players of his caliber – and his age (26) – don’t often hit the open market.
Yankees have checked in on Pete Alonso
If Soto doesn’t re-sign with the Yankees, and really, even if he does, Pete Alonso is another name that could make sense for the Bombers.
So did Alonso’s name come up during Cashman’s all with mega-agent Scott Boras?
“Yeah, sure he did,” Cashman said. “There are a lot of high-quality players in this marketplace, and certainly Pete did an amazing job with the Mets. I had a brief conversation with Scott about a lot of his—he has a lot of free agents, which is normal, and Pete’s one of them, so yes.”
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