New York Yankees

The New York Yankees will face significant competition for star free agent Juan Soto from multiple teams, including the New York Mets.

However, SNY's Andy Martino reported that during the MLB general manager meetings, "there is definitely a sense around Soto that he enjoyed the Yankee experience and will return if the team presents what he considers a fair offer."

Many believe that money will be the driving factor in Soto's decision in free agency, as he is expected to command a historic contract. However, Martino noted that "the notion that Soto will simply go to the highest bidder no matter what appears oversimplified." Still, it will be up to the Yankees to pay him what he's worth, as the 26-year-old "has a responsibility to future generations of free agents to continue to push salaries upward."

Martino pointed out that this gives the Mets a chance to swoop in with a deal Soto can't refuse.

"The team has the ambition, resources, and payroll flexibility to make the top offer to Soto," Martino said of the Mets. "There is an enormous amount of informed speculation going around that they are planning to do so. I definitely have the impression that the Mets are willing to be very aggressive financially here."

Soto increased his star power even more in his first year in New York, helping the Yankees make it to the World Series for the first time since 2009. His agent Scott Boras said he will prioritize "winning" when considering his options in free agency, but it's obvious that it will take a massive deal to land him this winter.

Soto's decision could shape the landscape in MLB for years to come, as he will be a difference-maker for whichever team he signs with this offseason.

The New York Yankees are "among the most aggressive" MLB clubs pursuing free-agent relievers during this week's annual General Managers Meetings in San Antonio, MLB Network's Jon Morosi reported.

The Yankees have so far worked on shoring up their starting rotation, as general manager Brian Cashman spent "much of Saturday" negotiating starter Gerrit Cole's return to the roster, per MLB.com's Mark Feinsand.

Cashman will now turn to rebuilding the Yankees bullpen, which could lose Tim Hill, Clay Holmes and Tommy Kahnle this winter. The trio became free agents following the team's elimination by the Los Angeles Dodgers from Game 5 of the 2024 World Series.

Tanner Scott, who is coming off of an All-Star season split between the Miami Marlins and San Diego Padres, is hitting free agency after ranking in the 100th percentile with an average exit velocity of 84.3 miles per hour.

The Yankees were one of the teams interested in Scott at the 2024 trade deadline, according to The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal. He would be one of the more expensive options on the market, as Spotrac expects him to ink a deal in the range of four years and $65 million.

Another All-Star in Jeff Hoffman, who earned the nod last season with the Philadelphia Phillies, is hitting the market this winter after posting a 2.17 ERA in 66.1 innings. He is projected to earn a two-year, $12 million contract by Spotrac.

The Yankees could alternatively decide to pursue a reliever via trade if Cashman is not able to fill in the bullpen on the open market.

Two relievers expected to hit the trade block this winter are the Milwaukee Brewers' Devin Williams and the St. Louis Cardinals' Ryan Helsley. According to ESPN's Jeff Passan, executives believe both are on the market.

Williams recorded a 1.25 ERA, striking out 38 and recording 11 walks in 21 2/3 innings through 22 games after returning from a back injury. He is expected to make around $8 million in his final season of arbitration, per Passan.

Helsley, who set a franchise record by recording 49 saves in 65 games for the Cardinals last season, is meanwhile expected to net around $7 million in arbitration, Passan reported.

Trades resumed on Oct. 31, while free agency officially began on Nov. 4. The Yankees will be making moves, one way or another, to revamp their bullpen while working on negotiations with star free agent Juan Soto.

Many believe New York Yankees star Juan Soto is looking to break the bank with the deal he receives in free agency this winter, but his agent is painting a different picture.

Per Erik Boland of Newsday, Scott Boras said Soto is prioritizing the teams that are committed to "winning" when considering his options in free agency.

Boras' comments on Wednesday echo what he told ESPN's Jorge Castillo about Soto's approach in his first foray into the open market.

"Juan loves winning and winning organizations and a winning owner," Boras said. "The geography part of it is that Juan and his loved ones are going to be comfortable. That's what's most important to him. And major league geography ... Juan's played on both: West Coast and East Coast. His main thing, the priority, is winning."

Soto helped lead the Yankees to their first World Series appearance since 2009, but they lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers in five games. The 26-year-old endeared himself to New York fans in his first season in pinstripes after being acquired from the San Diego Padres in a trade last winter.

Still, many expect Soto to receive historic contract offers that will be difficult to turn down. His age, skills and star power make him the most prized free agent to hit the market in recent memory.

The Yankees will undoubtedly do everything in their power to ensure that Soto wasn't a one-year rental. However, if another contender approaches him with the right price, it won't be easy for New York to hold on to the four-time All-Star this offseason.

New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman indicated Wednesday that he is prepared to make a strong play to retain superstar outfielder Juan Soto in free agency.

According to the Associated Press (h/t ESPN), Soto acknowledged that while other options are available to him in free agency, he intends to do all he can in order to keep Soto in pinstripes:

"We certainly have an interest in retaining him and we'll put our best foot forward there. That will either lead to us retaining him and signing him back or we'll be forced to go to a different direction if we can't. And if we can't, there's a lot of different players in this marketplace that can positively impact this roster in different ways. Clearly that pressure point's not on us today, but it does exist in the marketplace every winter, so those are the tough decisions you have to make."

The Yankees acquired Soto in a blockbuster trade with the San Diego Padres last offseason, and he went on to have arguably the best season of his career, leading the Yanks to a World Series appearance.

In his only season with the Yankees to date, Soto slashed .288/.419/.569 with 41 home runs, 109 RBI and 128 runs scored. He also hit .327 with four homers and nine RBI in 14 playoff games.

Soto is likely to finish third in the American League MVP voting behind teammate Aaron Judge and Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr., and he is likely to take home a Silver Slugger Award as well.

The benchmark for MLB contracts currently is the 10-year, $700 million deal Shohei Ohtani signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers last offseason.

While it may be difficult for Soto to reach that number since the Dodgers signed Ohtani based on both his hitting and pitching, Soto just recently turned 26 years old, so his age could work in his favor.

The Yankees showed a willingness to pay up in order to keep a superstar last offseason, re-signing Judge on a nine-year, $360 million contract.

They already let several other notable players hit free agency, including Gleyber Torres, Clay Holmes, Tommy Kahnle, Alex Verdugo and Anthony Rizzo, which suggests the Yankees may be building up a war chest of funds to use on a new Soto deal.

Cashman has been in talks with Scott Boras, who is not only Soto's agent, but also that of first baseman Pete Alonso, who Cashman admitted to discussing.

Alonso would undoubtedly be the top backup plan available in free agency if the Yankees can't re-sign Soto, as the former New York Mets slugger has crushed 226 home runs in six MLB seasons, including 34 in 2024.

While Alonso would provide Judge with some solid protection in the Yankees' lineup, the combination of Judge and Soto was arguably the best one-two punch in baseball this past season.

Aside from money and the opportunity to win, Judge's presence could conceivably be the biggest draw for Soto to remain with the Yanks.

It is likely that only a limited amount of teams can afford to pay Soto the type of compensation he is looking for and deserves, and even fewer can provide him with protection the level of Judge, who has hit a combined 157 home runs over the past three seasons.

There is little doubt that re-signing Soto is the Yankees' best path to success in 2025 and beyond, and Cashman appears ready to make a big run at keeping the Soto-Judge duo together.

Los Angeles Dodgers reliever Joe Kelly was critical of the New York Yankees in the wake of his team's World Series triumph over the Bronx Bombers, describing them as a "sloppy" team who played "bad ball" during a Monday appearance on the Baseball Isn't Boring podcast.

"It was just a mismatch from the get-go," he continued. "If we had a playoff reranking, they might be ranked eighth-or ninth-best playoff team. You know what I mean? You're putting the [San Diego] Padres ahead of them, you're putting the [Philadelphia] Phillies ahead of them, you're putting the [New York] Mets ahead of them, you're putting the [Atlanta] Braves ahead of them—and the Braves just got unlucky because they had to play that doubleheader. You're putting—I mean, the [Cleveland] Guardians played like crap, but the Guardians played better, the better D (defense), better baseball all around."

On Tuesday, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman responded to those remarks.

"I heard that," he told reporters. "I also know people with the Dodgers, so I've got some internal conversations that I've got certainly feedback on. I think it's more representative of some specific players rather than the overall group. And in Joe's case, it feels like it's for some reason, it's a little personal, the way he's out talking like he has."

The Yankees did play undisciplined baseball during the World Series, namely in the decisive Game 5, when a host of errors and mental lapses cost the team a 5-0 lead and ultimately the game.

"First and foremost, I acknowledge that we played poorly in the World Series," Cashman noted. "We all saw that, and unfortunately our A-game didn't show up when it counted the most."

It's harder to argue that the Yankees were a worse team than the Guardians, however, who New York defeated in five games during the ALCS.

As for why Kelly—who didn't actually pitch in the World Series and was left off the postseason roster entirely because of a shoulder injury—was so outspoken and critical of the Yankees is hard to say, though he did spend five years as a pitcher for the Boston Red Sox (2014-18). Perhaps the bad blood from that famous rivalry persisted.

The New York Yankees could be one of the teams pursuing New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso if he declines his qualifying offer and hits free agency, according to Mike Puma of the New York Post.

Alonso was named a Silver Slugger Award finalist after batting .240 with 34 home runs and 88 RBI in 162 games of the 2024 season. He then played a key role in the Mets' run to the NLCS.

The Mets made Alonso a one-year, $21.05 million qualifying offer he is expected to decline. Should Alonso sign elsewhere, the Mets would receive a draft pick in compensation.

Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns said after his team was eliminated by the eventual World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers that the Mets hope to have Alonso back next season.

"He's a great Met. I hope we have him back," Stearns said. "I think we both understand this is a process, and everyone's got their own interest. And Pete deserves to go out into the free agent market and see what's out there, and then ultimately make the best choice for him and his family."

Joel Sherman previously reported for the New York Post that the Mets offered Alonso a seven-year, $158 million deal that he declined in June 2023. According to Sherman, the team and Alonso's representatives "never got close to a deal."

That October, Alonso signed with player agent Scott Boras, who also represents Yankees pending free agent Juan Soto, sparking rumors that he would be hitting free agency after his contract expired.

The first baseman then agreed to a one-year, $20.5 million deal to avoid arbitration ahead of the 2024 season, setting him on track to hit free agency this winter.

The Yankees make sense as a potential suitor for Alonso given their decision to decline the $17 million contract option to keep veteran first baseman Anthony Rizzo on the roster. Heyman recently described him as a "prime backup plan to Plan A" of keeping Soto on the roster.

The Mets are meanwhile potentially going to be one of the clubs pursuing Soto, as the New York Post's Mike Puma reported they are one of the dozen or so teams that have "checked in" on the right fielder following the Yankees' Game 5 elimination from the World Series.

Soto, who turned 26 last month, is believed to be in pursuit of a contract worth around $700 million, according to Heyman. Alonso, who is heading into his age-30 season, could pursuing something upwards of the $158 contract he reportedly declined last year. Both could now be pursued by these two New York clubs with the deepest pockets in the MLB.

Gerrit Cole made the strange decision to opt out of his contract with the New York Yankees before deciding to remain with the team... on the exact same four-year, $144 million contract he opted out of in the first place, according to ESPN's Jeff Passan.

Per that report, "Discussions on a potential contract extension will continue. Essentially, it's the same as if Cole did not opt out."

Well OK then. So, that bizarre decision aside, where does this leave the team's payroll heading into the 2025 season?

Per Spotrac, the Yankees currently have $186.4 million in adjusted payroll allocations and $235 million in projected payroll expenditures when taking into account arbitration and pre-arbitration estimates. That's already a hefty sum, and that's before taking into account the astronomical cost it will take to keep Juan Soto if the Yankees are able to re-sign him.

The belief is that the floor—yes, the floor—for a Soto deal is 10 years and $500 million, meaning that to retain him, the Yankees will need to add at least $50 million to their payroll projections for next season, which would bring them up to around $285 million. And that might be on the low end of predictions regarding Soto's contract—he's going to have a vibrant market.

That is doable, of course—the Yankees sat at $309.4 million this past season, second in baseball behind only the New York Mets ($317.7 million). The Yankees have enough money coming off the books to pay Soto big money, though it may mean the team will have to cut some financial corners to address other needs on the roster.

Taking that approach, would the Yankees simply be mirroring the flashy and powerful but fundamentally unsound group that reached the World Series this past season, losing the Fall Classic in part due to terrible defense and head-scratching mental lapses?

Perhaps. But players like Soto—who just turned 26, by the way—don't come around often, and pairing him with Aaron Judge gives the Yankees the most dynamic star duo in the sport. They don't have much choice but to at least make a good-faith effort to re-sign him.

New York Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole is set to spend the next four seasons in the Bronx after the two sides agreed to stay together on Monday.

Despite previously opting out of his contract, Cole will remain with the team under the terms of the original contract, which had four years and $144 million remaining, according to Jon Heyman of the New York Post and Jeff Passan of ESPN:

Under the terms of the contract, the Yankees could have voided the opt-out by adding another year and $36 million to Cole's deal, keeping him on the team through 2029 on a contract now worth $180 million. However, the two sides have reportedly agreed to remain together even without the extra year being added on.

The opt-out came three days after Cole started for the Yankees in Game 5 of the World Series. The Yankees lost 7-6 as the Los Angeles Dodgers claimed the title at Yankee Stadium.

Cole is playing on the nine-year, $324 million deal he signed with the Yankees ahead of the 2020 season. At the time, the contract was the fourth-largest in MLB history.

He won the Cy Young Award after recording an AL-best 2.63 ERA in 2023, but he had a delayed start to the 2024 season after dealing with inflammation in his throwing elbow during the spring.

Cole made his season debut on June 19. He made 17 starts and went 8-5 with a 3.41 ERA while recording 99 strikeouts in 95 innings.

He improved to a 2.17 ERA in five postseason starts, including two in the World Series. After allowing four hits and one earned run in six innings during a Game 1 loss, neither he nor Anthony Rizzo were able to cover first base in time to earn a crucial third out during the Dodgers' five-run fifth inning in the season-ending Game 5.

By keeping him, the Yankees have avoided the uncertainty of losing an ace in addition to the potential departure of Juan Soto. The New York Mets are also expected to pursue Soto, who could be seeking a contract worth around $700 million over 13 or 14 years, per Heyman.

The Yankees will now hope Cole, who turned 34 in September, is able to stay healthy as he prepares for his 13th MLB season and his sixth in the Bronx.