BRONX, NY — Juan Soto was the last player sitting in the Yankees’ dugout on Wednesday night with his helmet on and bat in hand as the Los Angeles Dodgers celebrated their five-game World Series victory.
The deafening silence from his team’s corner of Yankee Stadium provided an opportunity for some reflection on a memorable season even amidst the heartbreak. It also brought baseball’s most pressing question to the forefront: Was this his last game as a Yankee?
“I’ll say that this is going to stay in my heart for the rest of my life,” the 26-year-old superstar said. “This year was really special… It would be a tough game if it was my last one.”
But for all the special moments and bonds that were built during Soto’s debut season in the Bronx after being traded from the San Diego Padres last winter, there is a very real chance that this could be his only season in Yankee Pinstripes. He is a free agent this offseason and will be the hottest commodity on the market.
“It’s going to be exciting. It’s going to be a good experience,” he said following the Yankees’ season-ending Game 5 loss to the Dodgers. “Every player in the big leagues wants to experience that.”
The bidding for his services is expected to result in one of the largest contracts in Major Leageu Baseball history — something along the lines of $600 million, to which he admitted, “That’s a lot of money.”
But for those holding out hope that the 2024 campaign will result in Soto taking less to stay with the Yankees, think again. Soto said that every team is on the table, including the Mets — the only team he was specifically asked about.
“I don’t know what the teams are that want to come after me, but definitely I’ll be open to this and every single team,” Soto said. “I don’t have any doors closed or anything like that. I’m going to be available for all 30 teams.”
To further diminish the Yankees’ chances, therefore lumping them with the rest of the league, Soto also added that they do not possess a particular advantage over anyone else.
“I don’t think so,” he said. “I’m really happy with the city and the team and these guys but at the end of the day, we will see. We’re going to look at every situation and offer I will get and make a decision together.”
The Soto sweepstakes in the Bronx will also boil down to how much owner Hal Steinbrenner is willing to offer. In May, he said the team’s current payroll situation is not financially sustainable with the $300 million-plus contracts of Gerrit Cole, Giancarlo Stanton, and Aaron Judge on the books. Soto’s money would not ease those finances.
Letting him walk would be a tough thing to sell to the fan base, which has made it boisterously clear how much they want Soto to remain a Yankee.
When asked if their ferocious crusade to re-sign him would play into his considerations, Soto flipped the script.
“Probably impact the decision of the ownership,” he said.
The fan base’s potential tough pill to swallow that would be seeing Judge play for a different team would become even harsher if he were to don the uniform of the crosstown rival Mets or the team that just beat them in the World Series.
Both the Queens club and the Dodgers have the backing and the front-office fortitude to go out on the open market and make a big swing for Soto. The money is obviously a major factor, but the prospect of perennial contention will also be taken into consideration.
The Dodgers secured that a decade and a half ago, while the Mets appear to be well on their way thanks to the deep pockets of Steve Cohen and the resourcefulness of president of baseball operations David Stearns.
“I want to be on a winning team,” Soto said. “That’s one of the biggest things. You want to be a part of this. Even if you don’t make it to the last team standing, you want to be a part of it, you want to be involved.”
It is more likely than not that Soto’s situation will not be resolved for quite some time. His agent, Scott Boras, has built a recent reputation of having his clients sign late in the spring, just before the start of the regular season.
But if Soto’s comments were to suggest anything, his use of past tense does not seem to bode well for the Yankees.
“Leaving any place that is a winning team is always hard,” he said. “This place was really special. It’s been a blast for me. I’ve been really happy… but at the end of the day, we’re going to see what happens.”
