The Juan Soto sweepstakes will be heating up this week, as the free agent superstar is expected to meet with the Blue Jays, Red Sox, Mets, and Yankees in California.
The bidding is expected to eclipse $600 million, and Brandon Tierney is willing to pony up the dough in the case of the Yanks, but the length of the contract could be where he draws the line.
“I’m not giving him 15 years. There’s no way,” BT said. “There just has to be an end to this cycle of bad contracts and overlapping. He’s not worth 15 years. He’s a great two-tool player. He can hit for average and power. He can’t run and can’t field. Why am I giving him 15 years?”
Soto was a Gold Glove finalist in right field in 2024, but that nomination was widely criticized by analysts across the league who maintained that Soto is not a strong defender, with this past season not being an exception. His poor route on a base hit in game one of the World Series led to a run scoring, though his bat made up for plenty of his fielding deficiencies. Still, BT believes Soto’s offense in the final years of a hypothetical 15-year deal will not be effective enough to mask the fact that he could be a full-time DH by then with little baserunning ability, similar to what Giancarlo Stanton has become in New York in recent years.
“That’s my way of saying I don’t need Soto at any cost,” BT said. “That’s my line of delineation. You guys can have him for 15 or 14 [years]. Hell, I don’t know if I even want him for 13.
“There’s gonna be overlap here as Aaron Judge begins to age out...Aaron is already 32, and he’s a big man. They have him playing the wrong position...they’re gonna be incredibly deficient defensively.”
Soto is an undeniable superstar who took the Yankee offense to new heights in 2024. His home run in the ALCS is one of the biggest in recent memory for the franchise. But if he wants a 14 or 15-year deal, BT is okay using that money to address other needs, and saying goodbye to the generational star.
“I just don’t think the Yankees need to be reckless here,” BT said. “I want him...but there are other holes...they don’t run the bases, and they don’t catch the ball. And Juan Soto doesn’t enhance that.”