Nothing is more certain about MLB free agency this offseason than the fact that Juan Soto is going to get paid. A lot.
The New York Yankees slugger will almost certainly sign a record-setting contract. ESPN’s Karl Ravech told Get Up Thursday he expects Soto is “going to get something that starts with a 7, if not an 8. … It’s going to be in the $700 million area.”
That amount rules out roughly two dozen MLB teams that can’t afford that kind of salary, and leaves the same group of teams that always seem to surface when marquee free agents hit the market. The Yankees and the New York Mets have been named as potential suitors for Soto, but two prominent baseball broadcasters in the New York market, Suzyn Waldman and Ron Darling, aren’t so sure it would be wise to give Soto that kind of deal.
Waldman, the Yankees radio analyst, appeared on the Maggie & Perloff show Friday and said the Yanks should not “break the bank” to re-sign Soto.
“[Juan Soto] is really something,” Waldman said. “What he is not, is a right fielder … Are you really going to break the bank for Juan Soto and still have to put Aaron Judge in center field?”
“Everyone is so focused on Juan Soto. There are eight other positions on the field that you can’t fill right now … If you don’t fill those positions correctly you’re gonna replay this year.”
Waldman is definitely on the same wavelength as Darling, the Mets color analyst on SNY.
In an appearance at the Paley Center for Media Friday, Darling said the Mets might be better served signing two superstars for what they’d have to offer Soto.
“I don’t know why I want to say no. I just think that as we discovered in the postseason, one player doesn’t ensure that you win a World Series,” Darling said (via Dan Bartels). “[Soto] is as great a hitter as I’ve ever seen and [Aaron] Judge had as great a season as has ever happened, but one player doesn’t make it. I don’t know, maybe you get two $300 million players.”
After the Yankees’ season ended in World Series Game 5 Wednesday, Soto addressed the possibility of that being his final game with the team, telling reporters, “You never know. We’ll see where we’re at.”
Wherever Soto ends up, the team that signs him to a contract in the neighborhood of $700 million will be making a commitment that could make, or break, their franchise.
[Maggie Gray on X, Dan Bartels on X]
About Arthur Weinstein
Arthur spends his free time traveling around the U.S. to sporting events, state and national parks, and in search of great restaurants off the beaten path.