"Yankees got to get Aaron Judge out of CF" - Ex-Blue Jays GM thinks Hal Steinbrenner won't overpay, picking Steve Cohen to acquire Juan Soto for Mets
As the Juan Soto sweepstakes continue, Steve Cohen's New York Mets has been backed by former Blue Jays general manager JP Ricciardi to land the Dominican star ahead of the New York Yankees.
Despite a successful season with the Yankees this year, the highly rated outfielder is exploring the market as this offseason's top free agent before making a long-term commitment.
According to Ricciardi, the Mets will come out on top, as he doesn't expect Hal Steinbrenner's Yankees to overpay for Soto. He said on the Baseball Isn't Boring podcast:
"I think the Yankees have a number, and I don't think they're gonna go past that number. Because at some point, you have Stanton, Judge and Soto, one of them has gotta be a DH.
"They've got to get Judge out of center field. You'd like to get him at right field, that's where Soto plays. ... I don't see Steve Cohen losing out on this."
With the current Yankees roster having Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton, it makes it complicated for them to find the best positions for all three players in the long run, should Soto arrive.
Meanwhile, Steve Cohen's New York Mets have the deepest pockets in the MLB and will look to make a huge splash after their postseason run this year. Ricciardi said that Cohen will be doubly motivated, as he's personally attached to the Latin American culture, with a wife who's from there.
Moreover, Cohen has a team and a fanbase which is heavily Latin American, which would be a huge selling point financially.
MLB insider says Juan Soto's decision on his future will be revealed during the Winter Meetings
The race for Juan Soto's signature has been narrowed down to four teams: New York Yankees, New York Mets, Boston Red Sox and the Toronto Blue Jays. While there has been no concrete update on who will sign Soto, MLB insider Jeff Passan says that the decision will be revealed no later than Monday next week:
“The expectation is that there will be meetings over the weekend and it’s at that point Juan Soto will decide where he is going to go. We will know, at the latest, at the time the Winter Meetings in Dallas start.”
The MLB Winter Meetings start on Monday, and Passan believes that Soto's decision will be known during the event