MLB Free Agency

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.

Let the offseason fireworks begin.

Monday at 5 p.m. ET was a key early deadline in Major League Baseball's offseason, as teams needed to decide whether to extend one-year, $21.05 million qualifying offers to those impending free agents who are eligible.

Some of the league's biggest names were among those who reportedly received the offers, including Juan Soto, Pete Alonso and Corbin Burnes.

ESPN's Jeff Passan shared the full list:

While teams had to decide whether to extend the offers by Monday, the players who received one have until 4 p.m. ET on Nov. 19 to decide whether they will accept it. Those who do accept it will play on the one-year deal for 2025, and those who don't are free to sign with another team.

If one does sign elsewhere, his former team will then collect draft-pick compensation as his new team loses picks. The draft-pick compensation means teams go through the motions of extending the qualifying offer even if there is virtually no chance the player will accept it in cases with stars such as Soto.

It should be noted teams cannot extend qualifying offers to players who have previously been extended one. That means notable names such as Gerrit Cole, Cody Bellinger, Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander and Blake Snell are not eligible for the offers.

There is no shortage of marquee names available this offseason, and they are all almost assuredly going to decline the qualifying offer.

After all, someone like Soto who is just 26 years old and one of the game's premier offensive forces is going to receive a massive payday. Accepting the one-year, $21.05 million qualifying offer doesn't make much financial sense, especially if teams such as the New York Yankees, New York Mets and Los Angeles Dodgers get into a bidding war.

While Alonso surely won't land the same type of deal as Soto, he is another offensive star who will likely decline the qualifying offer and seek a head-turning contract in free agency.

The slugger turns 30 next month but launched 34 home runs in 2024 after reaching the 40-homer mark the previous two seasons. He can still be among the game's best power hitters and will likely be paid accordingly this offseason.

On the pitching side of things, Burnes is the headliner.

The 2021 National League Cy Young winner was excellent in his one season with the Baltimore Orioles and posted a 2.92 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 181 strikeouts in 194.1 innings. He helped lead the team to the playoffs by anchoring the rotation and made his fourth consecutive All-Star Game.

At 30 years old, this may be his final chance to land a significant deal in free agency, and he surely isn't going to pass that up by accepting the qualifying offer.

When MLB free agency kicks off on the day after the World Series, no player will be more coveted than left fielder Juan Soto.

The 26-year-old is in the midst of the best statistical season of his career and is a unicorn of sorts: a young player, at the peak of his talent, hitting free agency for the first time in his career.

Nearly all franchises with available funds will be in the hunt for the generational player, but the New York Post's Jon Heyman reported there is a pecking order for teams favored to land him.

The incumbent team, the ALCS-bound New York Yankees, are the current and "clear" favorites, followed closely by the cross-town New York Mets.

Toronto, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Boston, Chicago, and Philadelphia round out the remainder of the list.

Soto finished the regular season with a career-high in home runs (41), hits (166), runs (128), and WAR (7.9), so it is not surprising that any contending team with a reasonable amount of money would be considered potential suitors for the four-time All-Star.

Soto, though, admits it has been a special season with the Yankees, telling NorthJersey.com’s Pete Caldera, “When you put that jersey on and those pinstripes, it just feels different. There's so much history and everything, so many fans all over the world that we have...it feels really nice to play for a team that has so many big moments in history.”

Sentiment aside, ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel told insider Buster Olney on the Baseball Tonight podcast that the serious bidders could drive his price to the $550-560 million range and that a Yankees win would mean he goes back to the Bronx.

A loss and he winds up in Queens.

Olney predicted he ends up with the Mets either way.

The Mets have the money after Justin Verlander's contract did not vest and with Starling Marte's knee injury slowing him this season, there is room in the outfield for Soto, even if it means shuffling Brandon Nimmo around.

Steve Cohen is always looking for the next big free agent addition and as long as the organization believes it will not mess with team chemistry, and general manager David Stearns has no prior issues with him from their time spent in San Diego, there is every reason to believe the Mets will aggressively pursue the potent hitter.

Still, there is something to be said about the success that Soto has had in New York, hitting in front of AL MVP favorite Aaron Judge. While he is a businessman first, the Yankees still feel likely to retain him, if for no other reason than the regular season excellence and postseason relevancy he helped bring back to the club in 2024.

Prediction: Juan Soto stays with the Yankees