Since the end of the World Series last week, many reporters and analysts have suggested that All-Star outfielder Juan Soto will either re-sign with the New York Yankees, join the New York Mets, or move to the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers in free agency.
However, executives at the annual general manager meetings this week seem to have narrowed down the teams in the running for Soto to just two.
“It’s the Yankees or the Mets,” one American League executive said when speaking with Mark Feinsand of the MLB website. “He knows the Yankees well after spending a year there, and Mets owner Steve Cohen has enough money to give him whatever he wants if he really wants him. It’s hard for me to see Soto going anywhere else.”
Soto is reportedly interested in being on the East Coast, and according to Jon Heyman of the New York Post, he knows that Cohen is prepared to battle with Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner for his services, at least until mid-December.
Soto had a successful time with the Yankees, playing alongside soon-to-be two-time AL MVP Aaron Judge.
However, one unnamed executive questioned if the 26-year-old might be mainly seeking the highest offer on the market.
Cohen, it seems, can afford to outbid Steinbrenner and still build a competitive team.
Feinsand added that the general belief in the industry is that Soto will end up in New York, and the only remaining question is whether he’ll be playing for the Mets in Queens or the Yankees in the Bronx.
Meanwhile, Jake Mintz of Yahoo Sports said on Tuesday that “the understanding around baseball is that the two New York teams are by far the most likely destinations for Soto, with the Yankees still being the front-runners.”
Mintz also added, “Soto going anywhere beyond New York would be a major surprise.”
The Mets’ loss to the Dodgers in the National League Championship Series denied New York fans the chance to see a Subway Series. Now, it’s up to Cohen and Steinbrenner to create the kind of rivalry that didn’t happen when Judge was a free agent in the fall of 2022.
