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The New York Yankees want to retain outfielder Juan Soto on a long-term deal. While the New York Mets have been seen as their biggest threat, should the Bombers be worried about the Toronto Blue Jays’ chances of landing the 26-year-old?
Soto landed in the Bronx last December after the San Diego Padres traded him. His first year in pinstripes was outstanding. He hit .288/.419/.569 with 41 home runs, 31 doubles, 109 RBI and 128 runs scored in 713 plate appearances. Soto also raked in the postseason. He slashed .327/.469/.633 with four homers and nine RBI in 14 games, helping the Yankees reach the World Series for the first time since 2009.
Plenty of big-market teams are interested in signing Soto to one of the richest contracts in baseball history. If the Bombers can’t reel in the left-handed slugger, will they also have to deal with him suiting up for an American League East rival?
USA Today’s Bob Nightengale thinks Soto will eventually land north of the border.
“The Blue Jays still have $700 million burning a hole in their wallet, and after the Yankees refuse to budge from their original offer, the Blue Jays swoop in and get their man for $630 million over 14 years,” Nightengale wrote Saturday.
While this is a troubling prediction for Yankee fans, the other four USA Today MLB writers and editors who were asked all predicted that Soto will stay in the Bronx.
The threat Toronto poses shouldn’t be discounted, though. The $700 million Nightengale referred to is what the Jays offered Shohei Ohtani last winter before he signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers. An unidentified former teammate of Soto also told NJ.com’s Randy Miller on Oct. 9 that the Blue Jays are planning on making an “astronomical offer” to the outfielder, which he heard himself.
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The post Yankees Predicted to Lose $630 Million Superstar Slugger to AL East Rival appeared first on Newsweek.
