Soto has met with the Red Sox, Blue Jays, and Mets, and the Yankees are next. What’s more interesting is what happens if the Yankees don’t re-sign him.
According to Heyman, the Yankees could try to sign a combination of Alonso, Bregman, Willy Adames, and Anthony Santander. They may also “look more seriously” at Burnes, Snell, and Fried.
For instance, the idea that the Yankees will be compelled to trade Soto seems plausible.
They can afford him; so can Boston and Toronto. And considering the magnitude of owner Steve Cohen’s money, there’s little doubt that the Mets are the best shot to make Soto and agent Scott Boras an offer they can’t refuse.
In terms of contingency planning, the Yankees have a plethora of feasible options.
Even if Soto’s contract is only worth $600 million, that amount would pay Kelly’s predicted deals for Alonso ($135 million), Bregman ($130 million), Adames ($180 million), and Santander ($101 million). If the Yankees only selected two or three of them, there would be plenty left for Burnes, Snell, or Fried.
Arguably, replacing Soto in the aggregate is the best thing the Yankees can do at the moment. They couldn’t win the World Series with him, after all, so trying again would be like doing the same thing and expecting a different result.
Alternatively, who says the Yankees can’t re-sign Soto and then rebuild their squad around him and Aaron Judge?
They may, for example, focus solely on trading for Crochet while also signing second-tier free players. Christian Walker would be an obvious choice at first base. They might also buy cheaply on Max Kepler or Michael Conforto for their outfield.
However, as with Sasaki and the Dodgers, the Yankees cannot count on Soto’s return. The competition is too fierce, and they just have too many outstanding needs to go all in on one guy.
