Juan Soto is the reason why the New York Yankees can see some hope for the next season. Now, Soto is worth $29 million for a year. But he might expect a much bigger long-term contract after the LA Dodgers signed Shohei Ohtani for 10 years with a contract worth $700 million. Now, the question is if the Yankees can offer a similar deal to Juan Soto when it’s time. Otherwise, there are many teams with a bigger cap space than the Yankees.
But Juan Soto proved that only money could not lure him to sign a deal after he turned down the Washington Nationals, who offered him a $440 million extension. He even won a World Series with the Nationals. But he was looking for a different challenge. That’s why he chose to stay with the San Diego Padres for a while. This offseason, the Yankees bought him. But the Dominican hitter just wants to play baseball.
Juan Soto Is Not Thinking About Any Contract Extension As He Just Wants To Play Baseball
Recently, at his introductory press conference, Juan Soto did not want to talk about the possibility of a long-term contract extension. He mentioned that his priority now is to know the team and his teammates. That’s his main goal at present. In terms of any contract talks, Soto mentioned the franchise knows where to call and who they can talk to. Most importantly for Juan Soto, he just wants to play baseball. He wants to help the Yankees in any way he can. That’s his focus at present. As per Spotrac, for the next season, the Dominican Slugger will earn $29 million.
Did Juan Soto reveal anything about how extension talks with the #Yankees may go?@BryanHoch, @Britt_Ghiroli, @DaniWex and @sal_licata share their takeaways from his introductory press conference pic.twitter.com/grdlxh603W
— New York Post Sports (@nypostsports) December 13, 2023
If the plan with Soto works out for the Yankees, they must plan to offer him a relatively large contract at the end of the season. Anyway, he’ll be receiving a large contract either from the NY side or others. Since Soto is arguably the best bat available in the league, the Yankees are eagerly waiting for a great season. It is time for redemption for the Pinstripes. If Aaron Judge and Juan Soto stay healthy, they can together hit more than 80 home runs next season. Hence, Soto’s presence sure boosts the morale of the organization.
The Yankees Improved Their Offense With The Dominican Slugger
The biggest reason for the failure of the NY side in the last season was their poor offense. Moreover, the Bronx had the second-worst batting average. On top of that, in the iconic Pinstripes team, there was a lack of superstars, except their captain. Hence, the team had been too heavily dependent on Aaron Judge. And when the captain suffered a severe toe injury, things fell apart for the Yankees.
Moreover, Judge stayed out for two months, and the NY side lost their chance to make the postseason. Hence, the Yankees were desperate to sign some superstars available in the market of free agency. The San Diego Padres were looking for a one-year deal as Juan Soto would be a free agent next year. Moreover, the Yankees had everything to seal the deal, and they did.