Day nears when Yanks may pay Juan more than Judge
TAMPA – It’s almost certain that Juan Soto is going to make more money than Aaron Judge. The question is whether the Yankees will be the ones paying both.
Soto will spend the 2024 season in pinstripes, but the feared hitter is slated for free agency next winter. Only 25 and on a Hall of Fame track, Soto is expected to sign for more than the 15-year, $440 million extension the Nationals offered him two seasons ago. The outfielder rejected that deal, which prompted a trade to the Padres.
San Diego then flipped Soto to the Yankees this past offseason after both clubs suffered disappointing 2023 campaigns. The Yankees gave up a five-player package for just one guaranteed year, trading Michael King, Drew Thorpe, Jhony Brito, Randy Vásquez and Kyle Higashioka.
But Hal Steinbrenner thought the steep price was worth it.
“He’s a generational player,” Steinbrenner said of Soto, who will make $31 million this season. “The opportunity arose where the Padres needed certain things that we had. I don’t know if you can say no if you’re able to do it financially and are able and willing to give up what they’re asking for, which was not easy for me to give up those guys. I don’t know how you can say no if both those things are possible to get a player like that.
“Even if it is for one year. Hopefully it’s not.”
While Steinbrenner said he didn’t want to dive into Soto’s future, queries regarding the slugger persisted.
Steinbrenner was asked if he were willing to pay Soto more than the 31-year-old Judge, who is entering the second year of a nine-year, $360 million contract that effectively came with the title of captain.
“I guess that’s an interesting question, but not one that I’ve thought about,” Steinbrenner said. “I’m not sure Judge would care if (it meant) we got Juan Soto for many years to come. But the market is what the market is and he’s going to cost what he costs.”
A similar talking point emerged over the offseason when the Yankees pursued Japanese ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto. The team offered him $300 million over 10 years, but he picked a record-setting, $12year, $325 million contract with the Dodgers.
Some wondered if the Yankees weren’t willing to pay a pitcher with no major-league experience more than Gerrit Cole. Cole, the AL’s reigning Cy Young winner, signed a nine-year, $324 million contract with the club before the 2020 season. A voidable opt-out clause will likely fetch him a 10th year and an additional $36 million this offseason.
“I wouldn’t say that,” Steinbrenner said when asked if Cole’s contract influenced the Yamamoto offer. “I just think sooner or later in these things, you’ve got to go pencils down. I probably went higher than some of our baseball people would have gone, but I felt it was important to the fan base and to our chances this year to really make a run and try to get him. I just felt, right or wrong, that the bidding was going to continue and $300 million was a very good offer, and I think a lot of our fans agreed with that.”
Steinbrenner added that he was “disappointed” when Yamamoto settled on Los Angeles, as he felt the Yankees had a “great meeting” with the righty. Asked if $325 million would have gotten a deal done, Steinbrenner said, “That’s pure hypothetical. I don’t know.”