To all fans’ surprise, the New York Yankees have generational star Juan Soto in their fold. But this change in roster is only for the 2024 season. They traded him from the San Diego Padres on a one-year guarantee. While the risk was steep, Yankee leadership deemed the risk worthy of accepting for this year.
As Juan Soto gears up for his walk year with the New York Yankees, speculations over his potential extension with the Bombers are rife. Soto, so far, dropped the decision-making to his agent, Scott Boras, as he intends to focus on playing baseball. But as far as Yankee leadership is concerned, Hal Steinbrenner shared his take on Soto’s humongous free agency contacts status.
Will Yankees Pay Juan Soto More Than Aaron Judge?
Juan Soto’s future contract status has hooked the MLB fraternity. His market value when he enters free agency next off-season is expected to soar above $500 million, irrespective of his 2024 season performance. Soto is a world champion and a three-time all-star slugger at the age of 25. He has a whole career lying ahead of him and stands a real chance to be a future Hall of Famer. Thus, the New York Yankees would surely be tempted to extend him his next free agency even if it costs them a bomb. Having said that, the pursuit is more complicated than it seems at first glance. If Yanks extend Juan Soto, he would be earning more than captain Aaron Judge.
That put the Yankees’ front office in a fix as they would not want to hurt Aaron Judge’s ego. However, the club’s managing partner and co-owner, Hal Steinbrenner, does not believe Judge’s ego is that fragile. “I’m not sure Judge would care if we got Juan Soto for many years to come,” Steinbrenner said. He added that they have to accept the market dynamics and pay whatever Soto deserves if they wish to extend him. That being said, Juan Soto is unlikely to consider extending his stay in the Bronx. His agent, Scott Boras, will advise him to test free agency water in all likelihood. Unless the Yanks can pull off a miracle, fans expect Soto to hit free agency and break off-season records along the way. For now, all eyes are on Soto as he dons iconic pinstripes for this season.
Hal Steinbrenner Revisits Yoshinobu Yamamoto Sweepstakes!
On the other hand, Hal Steinbrenner opened up on why the Yankees chose to restrict their offer to $300 million for Yoshinobu Yamamoto this off-season. “For a player that’s never played in the Major Leagues before, that’s a lot of money. And sooner or later, you must have a limit,” said Steinbrenner.
Hal Steinbrenner added that he chose to make an aggressive push for Yamamoto because he felt he owed that sincere effort to the Yankee fanbase. However, $300 million was considered a generous offer by Steinbrenner. “$300 million was a very good offer, and I think a lot of our fans agreed with it,” added Hal. Eventually, LA Dodgers landed the Japanese ace in a mega 12-year $325 million deal.
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