The baseball offseason is underway and will likely drag on beyond the holidays, highlighted by Juan Soto’s free agency.
The Yankees and Mets are widely considered to be the two front runners to land Soto, and if it winds up being Steve Cohen and the Mets winning the sweepstakes, Boomer believes that the Mets’ homegrown star will be in the Bronx come Opening Day.
“He’s gonna be a Yankee,” Boomer said of Pete Alonso, who is also a free agent. “If Juan Soto is in right field for the Mets, Pete Alonso is on first based for the Yankees. I’m telling you.”
Gio believes that would spark an outrage among Yankee fans, but Boomer says there is a case to be made that signing Alonso and two other top free agents would be cheaper, and potentially more beneficial than breaking the bank for Soto.
“You want to spend $600 million on Juan Soto, fine. He’s a great player,” Boomer said. “Do you want to spend $600 million on that guy for 15 years, or do you want a five-year deal with [Alex] Bregman at third base, who is 30 years old, Alonso at first base, who is 30 years old, and [Anthony] Santander?
“Then you have three guys playing three positions…and you might have two guys in the lineup hitting 50 home runs. And all of a sudden, Pete Alonso has protection. I know he’s not a contact hitter, but you got three home run hitters back to back to back.”
Soto is obviously a much bigger star than all of those backup options, but Boomer says it could wind up working out for the Yankees if that is indeed how things unfold.
“You gonna spend $600 million on one guy,” Boomer said. “Or $400 million on three guys?”