Juan Soto Doesn’t Sound Like Someone Intent on Returning to the Yankees

New York Yankees right fielder Juan Soto during a game against the Kansas City Royals at Yankee Stadium on Sept. 11, 2024. Vincent Carchietta/Imagn Images via Reuters

Shortly after the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the New York Yankees in five games to win the 2024 World Series, one of the biggest stars from the series uttered these words: “It’s going to be exciting. It’s going to be a good experience. I think every player in the big league wants to experience this. So it’s exciting to see how it’s going to be.”

Judging from that quote, you would think it came from a Dodgers player in exuberance after the victory and, perhaps, talking about the impending victory parade through the streets of Los Angeles. But instead, it actually came from Yankees star Juan Soto in regard to his impending free agency ahead of the 2025 MLB season.

Even though his team was on the losing end, Soto certainly didn’t disappoint during the Fall Classic, leading the Yankees in batting average, on-base percentage and OPS. That was simply a microcosm of his entire 2024 MLB playoffs run as his 1.101 OPS ranked second among all players with a minimum of 20 plate appearances. Combined with his regular season exploits, and just turning 26 years old last week, Soto is poised to become one of the most coveted free agents in MLB history.

However, that doesn’t mean his current employer has an advantage over any of the other 29 MLB teams. The above quote indicates that Soto is clearly looking forward to being a free agent, and he was asked if he ever considered that the Game 5 World Series loss was his final game as a Yankee.

“You never know. At the end of the day, we'll see where we’re at. Definitely a tough game to be my last one but really happy with what we accomplished as a team and how far we got,” Soto replied, while also saying he was really happy with “the city,” in reference to New York City, with many connecting the dots between his rumored interest in the crosstown Mets as a possible landing spot.

“At the end of the day, we’re gonna look at every situation, every offer that we'll get and take the decision from there.”

Every situation and every offer doesn’t sound like the best omen for Yankees fans, even if their team has the most money to throw Soto’s way. He infamously rejected a reported 15-year, $440 million extension while playing with the Washington Nationals and made $31 million this past season with the Yankees. However, he could be on the verge of the largest contract in MLB history, surpassing the 10-year, $700 million deal that Shohei Ohtani signed with the Dodgers before the 2024 season.

Some of Soto’s teammates almost seemed resigned to the fact that he won’t be wearing pinstripes next season, including Aaron Judge. The AL MVP favorite seemed to be talking in the past tense when discussing playing with Soto.

“It was fun to come to work with him every single day,” Judge said after Game 5. “Just the work the guy puts in behind the scenes. Even when the guy was hitting .320, I'd see him hitting late after games. If he had an oh-fer, he was showing up early doing work.

“Whatever he decides, whatever him and his family decide. He prays on it. He’s going to make the right decision for him and his family. We were definitely lucky to have him here.”

Since making his MLB debut in 2018, Soto has led all players in both walks and on-base percentage, despite breaking through as a teenager. He won a World Series in 2019, as a 19-year-old with the Nationals, and finished runner-up in NL MVP voting in 2021. Over his seven-year career, Soto has 201 home runs, 592 RBI, and a slash line of .285/.421/.532.

In his first, and maybe only, year in pinstripes, Soto led the AL with 128 runs and finished second only to Judge in on-base percentage and OPS. He also smashed a career-high of 41 home runs and took advantage of the short right-field porch at Yankee Stadium, which could be a reason to stay with the Yankees.

However, as long as Judge is on the team—and he’s locked up through 2031—Soto will always play second-fiddle on the Yankees. He dealt with that when he broke through with the Nationals, whose star was Bryce Harper, and that has lots of baseball pundits believing Soto will take his talents to a place where he will be the face of the team.

Apart from Soto, the Yankees have several other free agents, including Gleyber Torres, Alex Verdugo, and Clay Holmes. They also have decisions to make on veterans Anthony Rizzo and Luke Weaver as the former has a $17 million team option for 2025, with a $6 million buyout, while Weaver has a $2.5 million team option for next season.