After Hal Steinbrenner talked about the Yankees cutting payroll after this season at the owners meeting, Sal Licata is convinced that Juan Soto isn’t near the lock to stay in pinstripes that many seem to believe.
“I’m not great at math, however, signing and extending Juan Soto doesn’t add up to lowering the payroll,” Sal said. “And you have to field a team of players here, not just superstars.
“When he talks about lowering the payroll, that leads me to believe even more so that Juan Soto will be a New York Met next season.”
Soto is almost certain to sign a record contract this offseason, assuming he reaches free agency, and the Yanks already have loads of money tied up in Aaron Judge, Gerrit Cole, Giancarlo Stanton, and Carlos Rodon. Sal says adding another contract bigger than all of the ones the previously mentioned players signed is tough to imagine when the owner is talking about cutting payroll.
“You already have a lot of money tied up in a little bit of players,” Sal said. “How do you plan on spending $40-50 million a year on Juan Soto?”