Despite the seemingly endless Juan Soto rumors and the myriad of moves, non-tenders, and trade gossip, the most exciting part of the offseason hasn’t even started. For the New York Yankees, the priority is clear — they need to win the Juan Soto Sweepstakes.
The Yankees’ top priority needs to be extending Juan Soto
ESPN senior reporter Jeff Passan wrote about 12 specific teams and how they can win the offseason with one perfect, ideal move. It doesn’t take a genius to understand that Soto is that move for the Yankees, and Passan sure reinforced that notion:
“But for all of the sense it makes for the New York Mets and Toronto Blue Jays and Boston Red Sox and others to add Soto, the Yankees’ desire to retain him is most acute. They know what life is like with him in the lineup, and the prospect of losing that — and the fallout from the Yankees being outbid for a future Hall of Famer — should make it clear why keeping him is the foremost priority.”
The Yankees badly need Soto
Indeed, the Yankees know that what Soto brings to the table goes well beyond the numbers. Yes, he posted a .989 OPS, hit 41 home runs, and scored 128 times. Yes, he won a Silver Slugger award and finished third in the MVP race, but he has a winning aura about him that makes him invaluable.
Soto, you could say, has it all: an impeccable, consistent track record of dominance, youth, the clutch gene, flair, and hunger. That’s why he is projected to get more than $600 million.
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Soto was consistently great throughout the campaign and was, unsurprisingly, a beast in the playoffs. The Yankees hadn’t made it to the Fall Classic in the last 15 years. They got Soto and finally returned to the last series of the season.
Other teams are hoping to get a similar jump in quality by signing Soto, but the Yankees already experienced it and definitely don’t want to have it taken away from them. That will cost them money, though.
