TAMPA — It’s almost certain that Juan Soto is going to make more money than Aaron Judge. The question is whether the Yankees will be the ones paying both.
Soto will spend the 2024 season in pinstripes, but the feared hitter is slated for free agency next winter. Only 25 and on a Hall of Fame track, Soto is expected to sign for more than the 15-year, $440 million extension the Nationals offered him two seasons ago. The outfielder rejected that deal, which prompted a trade to the Padres.
San Diego then flipped Soto to the Yankees this past offseason after both clubs suffered disappointing 2023 campaigns. The Yankees gave up a five-player package for just one guaranteed year, trading Michael King, Drew Thorpe, Jhony Brito, Randy Vásquez and Kyle Higashioka.
But Hal Steinbrenner thought the steep price was worth it.
“He’s a generational player,” Steinbrenner said of Soto, who will make $31 million this season. “The opportunity arose where the Padres needed certain things that we had. I don’t know if you can say no if you’re able to do it financially and able and willing to give up what they’re asking for, which was not easy for me to give up those guys. I don’t know how you can say no if both those things are possible to get a player like that.
“Even if it is for one year. Hopefully it’s not.”
While Steinbrenner said that he didn’t want to dive into Soto’s future, queries regarding the slugger persisted.
One asked if Steinbrenner is willing to pay Soto more than the 31-year-old Judge, who is entering the second year of a nine-year, $360 million contract that effectively came with the title of captain.
“I guess that’s an interesting question, but not one that I’ve thought about,” Steinbrenner claimed. “I’m not sure Judge would care if [it meant] we got Juan Soto for many years to come. But the market is what the market is and he’s going to cost what he costs.”
A similar talking point emerged over the offseason when the Yankees pursued Japanese ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto. The team offered him $300 million over 10 years, but he picked a record-setting, $12-year, $325 million contract with the Dodgers.
Some wondered if the Yankees weren’t willing to pay a pitcher with zero major league experience more than Gerrit Cole. Cole, the AL’s reigning Cy Young winner, signed a nine-year, $324 million contract with the club before the 2020 season. A voidable opt-out clause will likely fetch him a 10th year and an additional $36 million this offseason.
“I wouldn’t say that,” Steinbrenner said when asked if Cole’s contract influenced the Yamamoto offer. “I just think sooner or later in these things, you’ve got to go pencils down. I probably went higher than some of our baseball people would have gone, but I felt it was important to the fanbase and to our chances this year to really make a run and try to get him. I just felt, right or wrong, that the bidding was going to continue and $300 million was a very good offer, and I think a lot of our fans agreed with that.”
Steinbrenner added that he was “disappointed” when Yamamoto settled on Los Angeles, as he felt the Yankees had a “great meeting” with the righty. Asked if $325 million would have gotten a deal done, Steinbrenner said, “That’s pure hypothetical. I don’t know.”
“He’s a great young man,” the Boss’ son continued. “And obviously a great player. But again, for a player that’s never played in the major leagues before, that’s a lot of money. And sooner or later, you have to have a limit.”
It will be interesting to see what type of limit Steinbrenner puts on Soto, a superstar with a proven track record and age on his side.
A Scott Boras client, Soto is all but guaranteed to test free agency. However, he and the Yankees haven’t publicly dismissed the possibility of an extension, as unlikely as one may be.
“I have a lot of trust in [Boras] and what he’s going to do,” Soto recently said. “I trust him so much that I just forget about that and I just come here to play baseball.”
Steinbrenner hasn’t always been open to extensions, but there have been exceptions. Luis Severino and Aaron Hicks signed deals that didn’t pan out, while Judge declined an offer prior to free agency.
Steinbrenner would prefer that any contract talks don’t carry into the season.
“I’m not big on extensions, as you know,” he said. “We’ve rarely done them. My concern dealing with that during the season is that it’s a distraction — at least it very well could be a distraction. Having said that — talking about Soto — if both sides feel very strongly about it and Cash feels very strongly about it, then that’s something I would consider depending on how the season’s going. We just can’t have it be a distraction.”
In the meantime, Steinbrenner is just now getting to know Soto. They met for the first time earlier this week, and the player made a strong impression when they briefly talked.
“He’s going to mean a lot,” Steinbrenner said of Soto’s impact on the Yankees. “I got to talk to him briefly on the field. Very intelligent young man and obviously very motivated and very successful already. Already a world champion and already has just went right into the clubhouse and fit right in. So I think he’s going to be great.”
