Insider puts a number on Yankees’ biggest nightmare with Juan Soto
The 2024-25 offseason is going to come with one of the biggest free agency decisions in league history. Juan Soto, the New York Yankees' 25-year-old superstar, is set to enter unrestricted free agency in just a few months. Soto and his agent Scott Boras have done everything in their power to get the young outfielder to free agency. Now, they're finally there.
With such an anticipated free agency, there will be a ton of speculation around where Soto could land. Right now, the Yankees should be looked at as the heavy favorites to resign their superstar. They have Aaron Judge locked up long-term, so they have flexibility to make this move.
But surprises happen. There are 29 other teams in the league that would like Soto on their roster. There are not 30 teams that can afford to offer him $600 million over 10 or 15 years, but a handful of teams could. And one would hurt the Yankees far worse than the others.
For more news and rumors, check out MLB Insider Robert Murray’s work on The Baseball Insiders podcast, subscribe to The Moonshot, our weekly MLB newsletter, and join the discord to get the inside scoop between now and the MLB offseason
Red Sox listed in Jon Heyman's top 10 Juan Soto suitors
MLB insider Jon Heyman has been one of the top insiders around the league for quite a while now. Heyman speculated on the top suitors to land Soto and the results may give Yankees fans nightmares.
Heyman listed the Yankees as the favorites to resign Soto, giving them even odds to get the deal done. After that, he listed the Mets, Dodgers, Giants, Blue Jays and Phillies. At seven on his list, he has the Boston Red Sox noting, "They have a lot of loot left over, no?" before giving them 35-to-1 odds to land Soto.
The Red Sox could completely turn around the energy behind their organization with a signing like this. They have some top prospects coming up through the pipeline as well as young talents like Jarren Duran.
This kind of signing would set the Bronx Bombers back decades. They would be forced to watch Soto terrorize the AL up close and personal. Soto would become New York's worst nightmare.
Honestly, I don't hate the fit. I think Soto would love to play in Fenway with this short right-field line as well as the passion that those fans bring.
Still, I would imagine that he's headed back to the Yankees as of now. Barring a complete franchise collapse, I see the Yankees making him the second-highest-paid player in baseball history this offseason.