Juan Soto is a near-perfect Yankee, talented and tough, not to mention 25 years old. He gets on base at an astonishing rate, hits major home runs, and sometimes carries a signature club on his back.
Soto does and says everything right, and he always says it with a smile. Unless he’s as good an actor as he is a hitter, he’s clearly having fun here.
He especially loves the Bleacher Creatures roll call. (I didn’t have to ask, but for the record, I did it anyway, and he confirmed. I loved it!)
Things are going well so far.
There is only one small negative point that most people are aware of. That means he could become a short-timer when he becomes a free agent after the season.
So naturally, I tried to clear up that little doubt in the two minutes I spent with Soto on Saturday before he had to rush into a pregame batters meeting. (Personally, I’m not sure he needs a batters meeting now, but I never questioned it.)
I had enough time to pose the $64,000 question (actually, in this case, the $500 million question). “Does he want to keep wearing pinstripes?”
Naturally, I would have about the same chance of resolving world peace.
“It’s too early to say,” Soto said.
“I mean, I’m still learning about the team right now. You don’t know a month into the season,” Soto said before the Yankees’ 5-3 win over the Tigers. “We’ll have to wait until the end of the season to see how it goes.”
This just shows that Soto knows how to deflect or field questions. It’s a percentage play that doesn’t show his hand that everyone knows is a winner anyway.
Either way, he can’t hide the fact that he’s having fun here. As the Post reported, Peter Seidler, the late owner of the beloved Padres, was trying to make him a Padre for life last summer before falling ill, but unlike the 2023 Padres, which ended in an all-time low. , it’s clear he’s a great fit in the Bronx.
“It was really fun,” Soto said. “It’s been a great experience. It’s a great group of guys. We’re all comfortable playing for each other. It’s feeling really good so far.”
As for whether he’s upset that he’s had to do most of the heavy lifting in the lineup, he doesn’t say so. The early front-runner for MVP leads a team with two former MVPs in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, OPS, walks, hits, RBIs, home runs, and RBIs — just about everything except strikeouts. . However, he has not decided that the group, which is underperforming and has a high profile, needs to be reinvigorated.
“At the end of the day, I don’t feel that way. I feel like everyone is doing their job,” Soto said. “That’s just some guys. They haven’t even landed the ball yet.”
As for The Decision, he needs time. This makes sense since he wasn’t ready to commit to the Nationals after three and a half years there, including a World Series win.
Word was a $440 million AAV (average annual value) with no deferrals for the Nationals, and his $29 million-plus 15-year offer was a bit light. At the time, the Nationals were in flux and the team was for sale, but that was said to be a different matter. Yes, this person is someone who has the luxury of thinking things through.
Even superstars often become free agents and have a limited market, but that shouldn’t be the case for Soto, who still has a lot of his prime left in him.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto was the most coveted free agent pitcher in history last winter. At that time, every team with the cash to spare showed interest, with six teams offering more than $300 million to the pitcher, who had never pitched in an MLB game. Yamamoto has many talents, including a dynamic pitch combination (both his curveball and splitter are elite), a 98 mph fastball, poise, athleticism, and competitiveness. But, of course, the biggest selling point was his age.
25 years old, same as Soto. Players cannot become free agents at that age.
Alex Rodriguez did so, doubling the record contract in a North American team sport with his $252 million contract with the Rangers in 2000 (Kevin Garnett’s $126 million was the record). This comes out like candy, including the first-ever opt-out that is being handed out right now.
Same goes for Bryce Harper, who signed a record 13-year, $330 million contract despite his walk year and sub-2 WAR (but he didn’t want to opt out) He is aiming for a contract extension because he plays a key recruiting role while enjoying the thrill of Philadelphia baseball (which is causing an era).
There may be some players who can play as well as Soto. But virtually no player has played this better than Soto.
Depending on how you count, he appears to be in position to double A-Rod’s contract and set a record for the largest contract of all time. Two-way international superstar Shohei Ohtani received $700 million with 97% interest-free and deferred for 10 years, but his contract is valued at about $460 million by the union (owned by the Dodgers). (Maybe even less, depending on how good the rights are), invested by stock-savvy Guggenheim Partners. )
Ohtani’s contract is a record amount. But Soto appears poised to set a record with real value.
For now, Soto is just postponing the answer to this big question.
