FREE AGENTS - MAINLY JUAN SOTO
It’s time again
for teams to review the free-agent market for potential signings. With Juan Soto being the main cream-of-the-crop player, the NYY have had 2 of their top players become the most sought-after free agents over the last
3 years (Judge re-signed with the NYY during December 2022).
Since Soto just turned 26 years old, and has had record-breaking success for years now already, he is expected to get the highest valued contract in the history of the game! The total contract is anticipated to exceed $600 million. Supposedly, besides the Yankees, other key suitors include the Mets, Red Sox, Blue Jays, and Dodgers.
There are so many reasons why my preference is to re-sign Soto including his season as a Yankee in the pressure of New York whereby he had a .989 OPS, drove in 109 runs, batted .288, and hit 41 homeruns. His career OPS is a whopping .953 and he’s averaged 35 homers and 102 RBIs per season, including being on some so-so teams during a few of those years. His concentration level at the plate is beyond any player in this era of baseball!
I have 2 reasons for reservations for us to sign him (although the positives mentioned above outweigh my concerns):
1) One of them is related to his defense. It’s certainly not awful, but he has moments where effort is lacking – such as going hard after a ball near the wall, especially in the foul areas. With that said, there are some plays and throws he’s made in the outfield that are great, but that greatness does not occur as often as his average outfield efforts. On top of that, outfielders don’t usually improve their defense after the age of 26.
Since Soto just turned 26 years old, and has had record-breaking success for years now already, he is expected to get the highest valued contract in the history of the game! The total contract is anticipated to exceed $600 million. Supposedly, besides the Yankees, other key suitors include the Mets, Red Sox, Blue Jays, and Dodgers.
There are so many reasons why my preference is to re-sign Soto including his season as a Yankee in the pressure of New York whereby he had a .989 OPS, drove in 109 runs, batted .288, and hit 41 homeruns. His career OPS is a whopping .953 and he’s averaged 35 homers and 102 RBIs per season, including being on some so-so teams during a few of those years. His concentration level at the plate is beyond any player in this era of baseball!
I have 2 reasons for reservations for us to sign him (although the positives mentioned above outweigh my concerns):
1) One of them is related to his defense. It’s certainly not awful, but he has moments where effort is lacking – such as going hard after a ball near the wall, especially in the foul areas. With that said, there are some plays and throws he’s made in the outfield that are great, but that greatness does not occur as often as his average outfield efforts. On top of that, outfielders don’t usually improve their defense after the age of 26.
2) My other concern is related to the finances that he’ll require. If the Yankees sign him to the expected threshold, they could be locked into a $40 million annual investment which will hinder them from spending well for other needs. For instance, we now need a first baseman, a second baseman (or a 3rd baseman if we move Jazz Chisholm to 2nd base), another ace-like starting pitcher, and a closer (or an 8th inning reliever if we keep Luke Weaver as the closer). Furthermore, if Soto goes to another team, we will be requiring a center fielder if Judge returns to right field. The Martian (Jasson Dominguez), at this stage, does not look ready to take on such a role full time yet. My personal preference over him is Spencer Jones who actually may become more ready than the Martian by the end of 2025.
Here are some of the key current free agents not named Soto:
Pitchers = Corbin Burnes (RHP/30 years old), Roki Sasaki (RHP/23 years old), Max Fried (LHP/31 years old), Jack Flaherty (RHP/29 years old), and Tanner Scott (LHP/30 years old).
Note: Blake Snell, one of the top starting pitchers,
was recentlysigned by (of course) the Dodgers for $182 million over
five years.
Hitters = Alex Bregman (3B/31 years old), Anthony Santander (OF/30 years old), Pete Alonso (1B/30 years old), Willy Adames (SS/29 years old), Christian Walker (1B/34 years old), and Teoscar Hernández (OF/32 years old).
Out of the above pitchers, and based on our known needs at this point, I would love to sign Corbin Burnes (every baseball fan should want him on their team) , Tanner Scott, and/or Roki Sasaki (who the Yankees have shown a great deal of interest, which would require them to use the majority of their international spending pool money).
Out of the above hitters, based on our known needs at this point, I would love to sign Christian Walker. (Santander would be a decent option if we lose Soto.)
Once all of this settles somewhat, we also have options for tradeable players. I would also love to see the Yankees restructure Stanton’s contract to help open some available spending to avoid the luxury tax. Of course, I would also love for them to release DJ LeMahieu or at least find someone to take on part of his estimated $30 million balance over the next 2 seasons; but that would require trading a highly rated AAA or AA player in such a deal. Either option to rid ourselves from DJ is a longshot!
Let’s hope Soto and the Yankees can agree on a contract as our first priority. If not, there are plenty of options to fill our main positional needs.
Hitters = Alex Bregman (3B/31 years old), Anthony Santander (OF/30 years old), Pete Alonso (1B/30 years old), Willy Adames (SS/29 years old), Christian Walker (1B/34 years old), and Teoscar Hernández (OF/32 years old).
Out of the above pitchers, and based on our known needs at this point, I would love to sign Corbin Burnes (every baseball fan should want him on their team) , Tanner Scott, and/or Roki Sasaki (who the Yankees have shown a great deal of interest, which would require them to use the majority of their international spending pool money).
Out of the above hitters, based on our known needs at this point, I would love to sign Christian Walker. (Santander would be a decent option if we lose Soto.)
Once all of this settles somewhat, we also have options for tradeable players. I would also love to see the Yankees restructure Stanton’s contract to help open some available spending to avoid the luxury tax. Of course, I would also love for them to release DJ LeMahieu or at least find someone to take on part of his estimated $30 million balance over the next 2 seasons; but that would require trading a highly rated AAA or AA player in such a deal. Either option to rid ourselves from DJ is a longshot!
Let’s hope Soto and the Yankees can agree on a contract as our first priority. If not, there are plenty of options to fill our main positional needs.
