The New York Yankees flew out the big guns to California yesterday to meet with superstar Juan Soto and agent Scott Boras. The NYY contingent was led by Hal Steinbrenner along with Brian Cashman and manager Aaron Boone. Jon Heyman of the New York Post said that Steinbrenner and his baseball people are “Gung-Ho” about Juan Soto.
Why shouldn’t they be? Soto’s one year in New York led the Yankees back to the World Series for the first time since 2009. Soto will likely finish third in the AL MVP voting after he had a career year that saw him slug 41 homers while driving in 109 RBIs. Juan Soto had a career high WAR of 7.9 and was a gold glove finalist.
The Yanks know that retaining Soto is not going to be easy. The crosstown Mets are extremely motivated to sign the superstar outfielder and rival executives are hearing that owner Steve Cohen will not be outbid. The Mets owner boasts a staggering net worth of over $20 billion and if he wants to flex is financial muscles, nobody in baseball can really compete.
That said, the Yankees are expected to put their best foot forward to try and retain Soto. I feel like Cohen is going to pull a “Price is Right” and make it clear that no matter what NYY offers, he’ll best it even if it’s by a little. From the beginning, I’ve thought that if Soto returns to The Bronx, it’ll be at a slight discount from what he’d get in Queens.
That said, the Mets aren’t the only threat to sign Soto. The deep-pocketed Toronto Blue Jays are very motivated to pair Soto with fellow Dominican star Vlad Guerrero Jr. The Dodgers always have money and they are expect to meet with Soto and give their pitch. The Phillies also plan to meet with Soto. All that being said, I still think this comes down to the Mets and Yankees.
Yankees Need to be Active
It’s very clear to me that Juan Soto is priority one, two, and three for the Yanks this winter. That said, I think they need to be very active talking to their backup options. They need to make inroads on their other targets so they can quickly pivot if Soto ultimately takes the highest offer which will be coming from The Mets.
So, what are the Yankees backup options? It’s very clear that there are a number of holes in the infield. There are two spots open right now while New York has Jazz Chisholm and Anthony Volpe ready to go for next season. Before addressing the outfield, I would focus there as the first priority.
The names I’m looking at right now are Willy Adames, Christian Walker, and Pete Alonso. I think Christian Walker is a guy they need to pursue no matter what happens with Soto. He’s the guy I want the Yankees to get in addition to re-signing Juan Soto. A gold glover at first with a very solid bat that would play well at Yankee Stadium.
That said, if Soto does sign with the Mets, I could see Cashman looking hard at Pete Alonso. If the Yankees were to sign Alonso, they’d arguably have the two best pure home run hitters in baseball in the same lineup with him and Aaron Judge. However, Alonso isn’t the greatest defensive first baseman and there are holes in his swing. He’s the sexier name and it would be taking someone from the Mets, but I still lean towards the safer bet in Christian Walker who would cost much less.
Willy Adames is a great option for third base. If the Yankees were to go out and sign a guy like Adames, it would allow them to shift Chisholm back to his natural position at second base while sliding Adames over to third. An infield of Adames, Volpe, Chisholm, and Walker would be one of the best in all of baseball.
Now, onto the outfield. There’s really only two options here and that’s Teoscar Hernandez and Anthony Santander. Santander is younger and does hit from both sides which is a plus, but he’s a right fielder. Teoscar Hernandez is a little more proven on the big stage over the last few years and he plays in left which would greatly benefit the Yankees.
If you sign a guy like Hernandez, you can shift Jasson Dominguez to center and move Judge back to his natural position in right field. This would protect Judge a lot more than playing everyday in center. If you ask me, I think Hernandez would be their top choice for the outfield should they lose out on Soto.
I know many have mentioned Alex Bregman but I don’t think the Yankees even sniff around given the current asking price. I think it would be a terrible move when they could sign a guy like Willy Adames for so much less.
While the Yankees need to make it clear that they want Soto back, they need to be talking to all these guys as the days go on. My dream scenario would be re-signing Soto and signing Christian Walker. However, if I have to stomach losing Juan Soto, bringing in Willy Adames, Teoscar Hernandez, and Christian Walker / Pete Alonso would definitely soften the blow.