All-Star outfielder and reigning Silver Slugger award winner Juan Soto remains priority number one of the New York Yankees. He is scheduled to meet with four teams, the Yanks being among them, and plenty of other squads are closely monitoring the situation.
The Yankees need backup plans if a Juan Soto extension falls through
Re-signing Soto won’t be easy for the Yankees, though. There is talk about 13, 14, or even 15 years for his free agent contract, and those within the industry are convinced that it will take more than $600 million to get his signature.
The Yankees, as a result, will probably need to have a Plan B in place should they lose the Soto sweepstakes. Anthony Santander could be a viable alternative, or Alex Bregman, Pete Alonso, or Willy Adames if the idea is to somewhat make up for the lost production regardless of position.
Teoscar Hernandez is on the Yankees’ radar
Another potential candidate, as Jeff Passan of ESPN recently analyzed, is free agent Teoscar Hernandez. The former Los Angeles Dodger hit a solid .272/.339/.501 with 33 home runs, 99 RBI, and a .840 OPS in 2024 and showed off his clutch gene in the postseason, with that key extra-base hit in the fifth inning of Game of the World Series:
“The Dodgers are the favorites to bring him back where he thrived in 2024. Boston is in. So is Baltimore. And the Yankees want him if Soto doesn’t come back, though he could have already signed by the time New York knows where it stands with Soto,” Dodger Blue wrote.
Hernandez is eight homers shy of 200 for his career and boasts a .808 career OPS. It’s hard to replace Soto’s production, but the Yankees are, apparently, interested in him if they can’t retain their superstar.
However, there is a feeling within the industry that Hernandez might sign quickly, so he might be off the board by the time Soto is ready to commit to a team. Stay tuned, because there are some really interesting days up ahead.
