Juan Soto Contract: Insider predicts Yankees slugger to break record set by Shohei Ohtani’s $700 million deal next winter
Juan Soto has been the New York Yankees’ headline act this offseason, but some question marks loom over his long-term future in the Bronx.
Soto, one of baseball’s elite talents and a future Hall of Famer, is due to enter free agency after the 2024 season. The Yankees were well aware of his contractual status when they traded for him, and are likely going to do everything they can to keep Soto in pinstripes beyond this year.
The 25-year-old, however, is expected to explore his options in free agency. The New York Mets are rumored to be keeping tabs on Soto and are expected to make a move for him next offseason.
Shohei Ohtani recently signed the biggest contract in North American sports history, when he inked a $700 million deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Prior to Ohtani’s record-breaking contract, no MLB contract had crossed the $500 million mark.
Baseball America's Eli Ben-Porat predicts that the Yankees would do whatever it takes to keep Juan Soto in the Bronx. He believes it would be rather "shocking" if they let Soto walk away after just one year.
Soto is represented by none other than Scott Boras. Ben-Porat thinks that Soto will settle for a 15-year deal worth $701 million to remain a Yankee, trumping the $700 million mark currently set by Ohtani.
Ben-Porat wrote:
“It would be a rather shocking outcome if the Yankees were to let a 25-year-old future hall of famer walk away in free agency. Does this really count as a bold prediction, projecting Juan Soto will get the biggest contract in history? Perhaps not, if you assume the Yankees do whatever it takes to keep him.
"However, Juan Soto is only a batter, and doesn’t pitch, so in any other situation, it would be unlikely he’d command as much as Shohei Ohtani. However, with a top-shelf talent like Soto, making history with the largest contract in history will be a key priority for Scott Boras.”
Should Ben-Porat’s prediction come to fruition, Soto’s deal would be the largest in terms of total value but in terms of AAV, Ohtani’s Dodgers deal would still be greater.
Should the Yankees break the bank for Juan Soto next offseason?
The Yankees gave up right-handers Michael King, Drew Thorpe, Jhony Brito and Randy Vazquez, as well as catcher Kyle Higashioka, in order to land Juan Soto. That’s a pretty sizable package, and the Yankees didn’t trade away those names only for a one-year rental.
So yes, expect the Yankees to bring out the blank cheque and do whatever it takes to retain a Hall of Fame-caliber talent like Juan Soto.
But first things first, the Yankees need to show that they can be competitive after the disastrous 2023 that they had. If by August they are not in a position to contend for a postseason berth, Soto is likely to consider his other options.