Juan Soto has become a fan favorite in the Bronx since joining the New York Yankees last December. It raised a lot of hopes but also a lot more questions. The NY side went all in to land the Dominican slugger. They gave away a lot of their pitching resources to trade with the San Diego Padres and bring in the 2020 NL Batting Champion along with Trent Grisham. However, the fact that scares the fans in the Bronx is the one-year deal between the lefty superstar slugger and the 27-time World Series champions. Everybody has been asking the same question, “Will Juan Soto stay with the Pinstripes in 2025 as well?”
Fans have been asking this same question even before the 2024 regular season started. Then, when it started, the offensive partnership between Aaron Judge and the Dominican outfielder gained a lot of attention. Moreover, the Judge-Soto duo has been showing glimpses of iconic franchise duos like Babe Ruth-Lou Gehrig and Mickey Mantle-Roger Maris. Now, the onus is on the front office to make sure that they keep Soto in the Bronx for the rest of his career. But the Yankees expect to offer a big contract to the superstar outfielder next free agency.
Yankees Expect The Dominican Superstar To Test Their Fiscal Limits
Only a couple of weeks are remaining before the NY side gets into the postseason. It will be their 59th postseason appearance in franchise history. The team is doing really well as they lead the American League East division. They have a 1.5-game advantage over their rivals, the Baltimore Orioles at present. If they avoid getting into another slump, they can very well win the AL East division this year. But the defending AL East winners will continue to give a tough fight to the Yankees. Nonetheless, the Bronx Bombers cannot avoid the tension between their payroll situation and the Dominican superstar’s free agency. Earlier, Hal Steinbrenner mentioned, “Our payroll is not sustainable.” But MLB insiders believe Juan Soto can earn upto $600 million over a 13-14 year deal, given his age. As per Cot’s Baseball Contracts, the Yankees will probably surpass more than $300 million for their payroll spendings already at the end of this season.
According to The Associated Press, Hal Steinbrenner and co are desperate to see a return on investment for justifying their excessive spendings on payroll. In the last twenty years, the Bronx Bombers have received Competitive Balance Tax penalties that near a total of $390 million. All they have to show for their efforts is one World Championship back in 2009. As a result, the Pinstripes are fighting with a fiscal dilemma as Juan Soto heads to free agency at the end of their 2024 campaign. How much will they end up spending to ensure Aaron Judge and his partner in baseball crime of 2024 remains teammate well after this year?
Juan Soto Keeps His Options Open Despite Expressing His Love For His Current Teammates
Clearly, New York, especially the Bronx, loves Juan Soto. There is a huge Dominican diaspora that makes him feel at home. Moreover, the Bleacher Creatures keep chanting “Soto Stay” whenever the Yankees play at home and the Dominican is standing at the outfield. The Pinstripes and the four-time Silver Slugger winner looks like a match-made in heaven. Recently, he enjoyed a walk-off winner, which was his first for the Yankees. Later, his teammates jumped on him and had a great celebration. After the game, Soto said, “I feel very comfortable with where I’m right now.”
But then, he proceeded to say, “I’ll still keep my options open” for the free agency. Clearly, the Dominican outfielder will be the biggest free agent at the end of this year. Teams will jump on the opportunity to land the 2020 NL Batting Champion for the long term. So far, the two New York teams – the Yankees and the Mets, look like the top contenders to sign the lefty superstar slugger.
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