Juan Soto is one of the biggest names in modern-day baseball, alongside Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani. But he is much younger than the Judge-Ohtani rivals. At present, he is a teammate of the California native. Both these superstars right now are the biggest hope for the New York Yankees to win the 2024 World Series. Last year, when things ended horribly for the Bronx Bombers, they decided to make a significant change to their roster. The biggest addition to their 40-man roster was none other than the Dominican superstar. Clearly, the lefty superstar slugger has formed a dynamic pair with the Yankees captain.
Both Aaron Judge and Juan Soto are breaking several franchise records throughout this season. Many fans in the Bronx wonder where the 25-year-old superstar will play for the rest of his career. Obviously, these fans would want him to wear the Pinstripe uniform for the rest of his MLB career. On top of that, Hal Steinbrenner, the owner, said a few months ago that he wished the same. But the question is if the Dominican slugger will break the free agency record. If he does, then the Yankees will have to pay more for Soto than they had to pay for Judge.
How Much Juan Soto Will Earn In Free Agency This Year?
Recently, on the Blair and Barker show, Jon Heyman mentioned that he sees the Dominican slugger as a more sought-after signing than Shohei Ohtani was in last year. Moreover, the MLB insider pointed at Soto’s free agency, saying, “The agent will be an enormous factor.” Juan Soto is just 25 years old. Hence, he has a 3-4 years advantage of still in his prime and youth when he signs with a team in his free agency. Heyman said a typical free agent generally signs a long-term deal with a team at 29 or 30. Hence, Soto has an advantage right there. Teams will be eager to use him in the prime of his career. That’s why Heyman believes more teams will be in for the Dominican slugger than what happened with the Unicorn.
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Adding to that, Heyman noted that Soto deserves a contract above $500 million and closer to $600 million. In case of the present-day value of Shohei Ohtani’s $700 million deal, considering all the inflation and other factors, it is around $460 million. Experts including Heyman and Jeff Blair believes Soto should get more than $500 million in free agency. Teams like the Yankees, their crosstown rivals, the New York Mets, also the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Philadelphia Phillies are hot favorites to land the 2020 NL Batting Champion.
Why Aaron Judge Stayed With The Yankees When He Could Have Earned Even More Than What He Did?
In the latest episode of Blair and Barker, Jon Heyman mentioned that Aaron Judge could have signed more than $400 million if he had said “Yes” to the San Diego Padres and San Francisco Giants. But he settled for a nine-year deal worth $360 million. Heyman said some can argue that Judge is better than the Dominican superstar. However, Juan Soto is four and a half years younger than his partner in baseball crime.
Moreover, the MLB insider pointed at Judge being a home grown Yankee, who wanted to stay part of that iconic franchise. However, it is not the same case with Soto. But this year, the Yankees Nation would pray that the Judge-Soto duo can help them end the title drought.
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