Keith believes Yankees are easy choice for Juan Soto if money is close: 'Pinstripes are different'

As the Juan Soto sweepstakes potentially enter its final days, Keith McPherson wonders how the free agent superstar will walk away from the Yankees if the money is relatively similar.

If the money is right on all sides, Keith believes the Yankees would likely be the easy choice after the career year Soto had in his debut season in pinstripes.

“When the human element comes in to decide…if you don’t hate your job, if it’s not that much more money, aren’t you going to stay where you’re comfortable?” Keith said.

“He’s not looking at the Yankees like ‘Going to the World Series sucked. Coming in third place for the MVP sucked.’ He’s 26. You think he’s not saying ‘If Judge is in his prime for the next couple years, and I’m entering my prime, maybe I can hit 45-50 home runs.’”

Soto has played things close to the chest as he looks to maximize his negotiating power, but Keith believes the Yankees have the best draw given the familiarity, the success he had in 2024, and the potential to win.

“Juan Soto had to be a robot towards the media because that’s how he was programmed by Scott Boras,” Keith said. “But Juan Soto the human being, the player, the teammate, I think it would be pretty bold to walk away if all things are equal. It would be almost crazy.

“It’s what all these guys dream of. The pinstripes are different. It’s history. It’s baseball.”