One of the leading subplots of the 2024 World Series between the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers is the impending free agency of Yankees slugger Juan Soto -- the best player in this series not named Aaron Judge or Shohei Ohtani.
Soto, whom the Yankees acquired heading to his walk year via a blockbuster offseason trade with the Padres, remains one of the most productive hitters in all of baseball. This season for New York, he slashed .288/.419/.569 with 41 home runs and more walks than strikeouts. Soto also enjoyed his finest season with the glove to date. For his career, he owns an OPS+ of 160 and a WAR of 36.4. To boot, he's exceedingly durable and most essentially just turned 26 on Friday. All of those considerations plus his substantial star power mean Soto may wind up inking a deal worth $600 million or more.
On Friday before Game 1 in L.A., Soto once again addressed the fact that he'll hit the market soon after the Yankees either win this World Series or come up short against their fellow juggernaut across the way. Via David Lennon of Newsday, here's what Soto told reporters about his priorities for picking where he'll play for the next decade-plus:
"Definitely every player wants to be happy where they're at. And at the end of the day, whenever you win, you're going to be really happy. So wherever you are that you have a chance to win a championship, you're going to be excited to play for them. I think that's the biggest thing. That's the biggest mindset right now. See where's the best chance for that and go from there."
The implication here is that the size of the contract may not be the primary motivation for Soto. This, of course, is a variation on nearly every marquee free-agent-to-be says, and most of them wind up signing the most lucrative offer. Sure, the promise of winning typically goes hand in hand with the offering of market rates for a superstar, but that's not always the case.
Obviously, the Yankees figure to have an advantage. They, of course, have vast coffers. Soto, by all accounts and appearances, has very much enjoyed his time in the Bronx, and they're self-evidently presenting him with the opportunity to win another championship. The Mets and certain other big spenders and surprise contenders will no doubt be heard from, but for now Soto is hitting the refrain of winning as his top priority. The Yankees, four wins from their 28th World Series title in franchise history, have to like the sounds of that.
