Juan Soto, Yankees sound motivated to avoid free agency altogether

The Juan Soto trade has worked wonders for the New York Yankees. Even with his recent three-for-27 skid after Thursday's hitless performance, he's still slashing .302/.403/.517 with nine home runs and 34 RBI. He's been the perfect fit in a lineup that needed a major lift after their dreadful 2023 campaign.

Soto was always expected to provide a major boost to the Yankees for this season, but the question always was how long would he wear the Pinstripes? Soto is a free agent at the end of the season, and with Scott Boras representing him, it felt like a lock that he was going to test the open market.

It turns out that Soto entering free agency might not be the slam dunk everyone assumed that it was. Not only are the Yankees interested in chatting with Boras during the season to see if an extension can get done, Soto himself seems at least somewhat interested in avoiding free agency. Wouldn't that be something?

Juan Soto testing free agency might not be a lock after all

His door is always open. If that's the case, it's time for Hal Steinbrenner and Brian Cashman to lock Soto and Boras into a room until they come to an agreement. If Soto is willing to sign an extension, the Yankees need to take advantage of that.

Soto is such a special player. He has no weaknesses offensively. Sure, it'd be nice if he was faster and was a bit better defensively, but his bat is second to none. The best part is, he's only 25 years old! He isn't even in his prime yet.

Even with this latest development, it's probably unlikely that an extension is reached. Soto is going to ask for an arm and a leg to not at the very least test free agency and see what other desperate big market teams are willing to offer. It's probably unlikely that the Yankees give that to him. They should, but likely won't. I mean, they let Aaron Judge, their captain, hit free agency. Plus, we all know what Boras wants to do with his clients.

Still, while it might be unlikely, Soto even leaving his door open is a great sign for Yankees fans. His door would not be open if he wasn't enjoying himself in the Bronx. He could've easily pushed talks to the offseason. Even if it doesn't happen now, the Yankees will clearly be motivated to get him signed long-term, and it sounds like Soto will seriously entertain whatever they put out in front of him.