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    • Do the Yankees have an advantage? No.
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    Do the Yankees have an advantage? No.

    Pabio Posted on

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    NEW YORK – In a matter of moments Wednesday night, the New York Yankees went from being Juan Soto’s employer to one of 30 teams likely to pay for his services next year.

    Soto, the 26-year-old slugger and baseball’s most coveted free agent this winter, made it clear that while the Yankees will certainly have a chance to retain his services in an offer that will likely exceed $500 million, his decision will almost certainly be different than that of his powerhouse partner, Aaron Judge.

    The Yankees moved relatively quickly to re-sign Judge of nine-year, $360 million deal after hitting 53 homers in 2022. But Judge has always been a Yankee, a native, soon-to-be captain.

    SO ? He was a World Series champion at age 21, traded by the Washington Nationals at age 23, and dealt again to the Yankees before this season. That’s a lifetime of mind-blowing moves in just a few years.

    And yes, the marriage was almost perfect: Soto hit a career-high 41 homers, posted a .989 OPS, gave Judge a run for his money for AL MVP, then dominated the playoffs playoffs, with a .327 average, four home runs. , a 1.102 OPS and a pennant-winning home run.

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    However, it all ended with Game 5 of the World Series, a 7-6 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers pushing Soto out early Thursday morning.

    His Yankee teammates really want him back. SO ?

    “I think every team has the same opportunities when I hit free agency,” he said after Game 5 at Yankee Stadium.

    But the excitement of New York, the history that comes with being a Yankee, the incredible partnership with Judge, the love he and his teammates all claim to feel at the hometown club — it creates the feeling Soto would prefer New York, right?

    “I don’t think so,” Soto said without flinching. “I’m really happy with the city, the team, but at the end of the day we’re going to look at every situation, every offer we get, and go from there.

    “I don’t know which teams will want to succeed me, but I will be open to that and to all teams. I don’t have any closed doors or anything like that. I will be available for all 30 teams.

    OK, so the Tampa Bay Rays or Pittsburgh Pirates aren’t going to run into Soto. In reality, his market is no more than a half-dozen teams, with clubs like San Francisco and Toronto still hungry to make a splash in free agency, Philadelphia still a living dog and, as agent Scott Boras says will tell the masses next week in general conference. During manager meetings, a handful of mystery teams will emerge.

    With that in mind, ranking the Yankees in just the top 30 might be a bit shocking to fans who have fallen in love with Soto this year and realize how important he is to their future.

    Not to mention his teammates.

    “We were lucky to have him here and it would be great to continue playing with him,” said Judge, who probably had his best all-around season with Soto ahead of him.

    “Because he’s a special player. I think everyone in this room wants him back. Besides looking at the stats, that’s the type of leader he is in this clubhouse, a lot of little things that people don’t notice that make him one of the best, if not the best player in the game .

    “He’s a scientist over there.” I would really love to see him in pinstripes for quite a long time.

    For now, Soto plans to sit with Team Boras and wait. Boras’ clients are known for fully opting into the free agency process, and while Soto doesn’t need to sit out much of spring training as it’s known Boras four did it this year, he’s ready to let the market come to him.

    This is not good news for the Yankees, who certainly knew there was no preemptive strike to be made. As expected, the question for them is: how bad do they want it?

    Fans have made their voices heard, serenading management by begging to re-sign Soto at several points this year. Did the singing affect him?

    “That will probably impact the ownership decision,” Soto said with a laugh. “We’ll see how it goes.”

    The judge says Soto should take advantage of the free agent process and reap the rewards he earned during six years of service that freed him. Fellow player Giancarlo Stanton, who signed a $325 million extension with Miami before a trade to New York, says he can’t offer Soto any advice as a free agent.

    Well, maybe a piece.

    “Stay with us, maybe?” he asked.

    It doesn’t hurt that the Yankees won 94 games and the AL pennant. Soto will likely go to the highest bidder, but also to a winning franchise – the two are often correlated – and New York has an advantage in this area over contenders such as the Giants and Blue Jays.

    But next month they will all be on equal footing until the offers are made, countered, considered.

    “It’s always great to have a champagne shower,” he says of the idea of ​​returning to finish work in New York. We’ll see what happens in the offseason.

    “The Yankees are one of the teams. And we’ll go from there.

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