Rumor: Yankees Have A "cap" On What They Will Offer Juan Soto

Sometimes, I spend too much time looking for those intriguing sound bites on Youtube.com and X. Now that we are inching closer to the trade deadline I am probably doing more searching than normal. In my search, I found a video on the Yankees top priority this winter, Juan Soto himself.

So Bob Nightengale did an interview with Sportsnaut.com and believes “there is a price demand Juan Soto could make that would be too much for the organization to pay.” Even Hal Steinbrenner has said the Yankees current payroll is “not sustainable” and changes will be made, you can read more HERE. We get it payroll is high, Hal doesn’t want to carry that cost going forward blah, blah, blah.

So what is the likelihood Soto remains a Yankee? According to Nightengale the Yankees probably would’ve walked away from Aaron Judge if he demanded a contract in excess of $400 million. “I think there’s a point there [where it becomes too much]. Let’s be honest. If Soto was doing what he’s doing in New York in San Diego, San Diego would have kept him. [He] underperformed there. Put up big-time numbers when they were out of the race, but was very disappointing in his time there. Which Juan Soto are you getting? A lot of guys put up being numbers in their walk year,” said Nightengale.

I don’t always agree with Nightengale, but he is right that a lot of guys put up big numbers in their walk year. Those numbers are what make teams pay at a premium and it’s normal. We aren’t halfway through the season yet and Soto’s .313 BA, 55 RBIs and 18 home runs look really attractive to every major league team. Every team wants that.

But which teams can afford him? It’s an honest question. “Beside the Yankees and Mets, who’s going to bid on this guy? Could the Giants? Maybe, but they don’t want to be used. I don’t see anyone else,” Nightengale said. “If you’re the Yankees, are you going to give him much more than $360 million? That’s Aaron Judge’s contract. The face of the franchise, arguably, the best player in baseball. The Mets could come in for a higher figure. It’s not a bidding war. Only a couple of teams will be involved. It’s like having a mansion in a midsize neighborhood. How many people can afford this thing?”

We all know the Yankees can afford whatever they want. Hal isn’t hurting for money, but he is protecting his precious profits. So how high should the Yankees go? There’s a lot of baseball to go before that has to be figured out but he’s not getting Shohei Ohtani money no matter how hard Scott Boras tries.

So how much is “too much” and what should the Yankees cap be? Hal is either going to be a very loved owner or an even more unpopular owner come winter. 

–Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa