According to Ryan Chichester of Audacy, former New York Jets quarterback and current WFAN radio host Boomer Esiason recently speculated that the New York Yankees might hesitate to offer All-Star outfielder Juan Soto a higher annual salary than what team captain Aaron Judge earns from his nine-year, $360 million contract signed in December 2022.
However, this may not pose an issue for Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner, as Soto is still on course to enter free agency this fall.
“A couple of agents suggested they believe the Yankees would prefer to limit Soto’s annual salary to Judge’s $40M, though Soto will be 4.5 years younger for free agency, and it’s unlikely the win-obsessed Judge minds being the second-highest paid Yankee,” MLB insider Jon Heyman of the New York Post explained across multiple articles published on Thursday. “I don’t believe that’s the case, anyway.”
The only certainty about Soto’s immediate future is that he won’t be giving the Yankees any sort of discount on a contract extension before hitting free agency. This makes sense, given that the value of his next deal is likely to rise with each passing week.
According to ESPN stats, as of Friday, Soto was fifth in MLB with 34 home runs, sixth with 87 RBIs, fifth with a .307 batting average, and second (only behind Aaron Judge’s 1.174) with a 1.052 OPS. Meanwhile, the 72-50 Yankees ended Thursday tied with the Baltimore Orioles for the lead in the American League East standings.
Even before the season began, some speculated that Soto could be a target for the New York Mets, with many believing that big-spending Mets owner Steve Cohen would be willing to offer the 25-year-old slugger, who turns 26 in October, a massive contract to make him the face of the franchise.
For context, the 62-59 Mets entered Friday two games behind the Atlanta Braves in the race for the final National League wild-card spot.
“Steve Cohen provides their edge, and they’ve strategized to clear payroll via expiring contracts,” Heyman wrote about the Mets’ expected pursuit of Soto. “But they might need to significantly outbid their crosstown rival.”
Heyman consulted with “13 experts” about the potential contract Soto could secure as a free agent. One expert suggested that the deal could be worth $600 million guaranteed over 12 years.
Steinbrenner has previously cautioned fans that he wouldn’t build a payroll he considered “not sustainable,” but he might need to rethink that stance if he wants to prevent Soto from signing with the Mets or another team.
