Yankees GM Brian Cashman: Juan Soto will likely test MLB free agency
The New York Yankees pulled off the blockbuster trade of the MLB offseason, acquiring star outfielder Juan Soto from the San Diego Padres. That said, the move came with no assurances that Soto will be in place for the long haul, as he's a free agent after the 2024 season.
Yankees general manager Brian Cashman confirmed that it's unlikely the two sides will agree to an extension before the upcoming season.
"We recognized when we went into this situation that the odds are that it’s a one-year situation before free agency," Yankees general manager Brian Cashman told MLB Network on Thursday. "Certainly, that can change, I guess, but the odds are certainly against that. He’s this close to free agency. I don’t see too many things stopping him from hitting free agency.
"So we’re just looking to see if we collectively can crush it together, have an amazing walk year and [have] him put up the numbers he’s capable of putting up with the cast of characters that we’re going to surround him with. See if we all can have a good time and then have a conversation thereafter."
New York acquired Soto and outfielder Trent Grisham from San Diego in December for pitchers Michael King, Drew Thorpe, Jhony Brito and Randy Vasquez and catcher Kyle Higashioka. King played a critical role out of New York's bullpen in recent memory, posting a combined 2.88 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 147 ERA+ and 255 strikeouts over 219.0 innings from 2021-23, while Thorpe was a second-round draft pick in 2022.
Concerning Soto's potential next contract, Mike Trout (12-year, $426.5 million deal), Mookie Betts (12-year, $365 million deal) and Yankees star Aaron Judge (nine-year, $360 million deal) have the richest contracts among MLB outfielders.
Soto spent the first four-plus seasons of his MLB career with the Washington Nationals (2018-22), most notably helping them win the 2019 World Series. Washington traded Soto to San Diego at the 2022 MLB trade deadline. This past season, Soto totaled a career-high 35 home runs, 109 RBIs and an MLB-best 132 walks, while posting a .275/.410/.519 slash line and appearing in 162 regular-season games. He has led the league in walks in each of the past three seasons.
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Soto is the face of a lively Yankees offseason, which also saw them acquire outfielder Alex Verdugo — who's also a free agent after this coming season — from the Boston Red Sox and sign veteran starting pitcher Marcus Stroman to a two-year, $37 million deal. New York is coming off an 82-80 season, which saw it miss the playoffs for the first time since 2016.
Soto, 25, is a three-time All-Star and four-time Silver Slugger award winner.
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