{"id":1783,"date":"2024-11-18T01:57:46","date_gmt":"2024-11-18T01:57:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=1783"},"modified":"2024-11-18T01:57:46","modified_gmt":"2024-11-18T01:57:46","slug":"breaking-yankees-make-final-preparations-before-juan-soto-meeting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=1783","title":{"rendered":"BREAKING: Yankees Make Final Preparations Before Juan Soto Meeting"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The New York Yankees are set to meet with free-agent superstar Juan Soto on Monday.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Dec 21, 2022; Bronx, New York, USA; Hal Steinbrenner during a press conference at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jessica Alcheh-Imagn Images \/ Jessica Alcheh-Imagn Images<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The\u00a0New York Yankees\u00a0are just one day away from their highly anticipated meeting with superstar free-agent slugger Juan Soto and his agent, Scott Boras, in Newport Beach, California.<\/p>\n

With rival suitors like the Toronto Blue Jays, Boston Red Sox, and New York Mets reportedly already making\u00a0strong initial presentations\u00a0to Soto, the pressure is on the Yankees\u2019 front office to keep him from being lured elsewhere. Owner Hal Steinbrenner, general manager Brian Cashman, and manager Aaron Boone are among those preparing to make their pitch.<\/p>\n

According to\u00a0Bob Klapisch of NJ Advance Media, a source familiar with the Yankees\u2019 strategy said the team plans to emphasize the opportunity for Soto to continue pairing with Aaron Judge and compete in the postseason “practically every year.”<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Yankees will remind Soto he went straight to the World Series in his first season in pinstripes,\u201d Klapisch wrote in an\u00a0article\u00a0published Sunday. \u201cAnd despite the traumatic loss to the Dodgers, Soto and Judge combined to become MLB\u2019s most fearsome regular-season duo.\u201d<\/p>\n

Batting back-to-back in the second and third spots in the lineup, Soto and Judge each put up historic numbers. Soto hit .288\/.419\/.569 with 41 home runs and 109 RBIs in the regular season, while Judge posted a .322\/.458\/.701 line, leading the league with 58 home runs and 144 RBIs.<\/p>\n

Both players were named finalists for the AL Most Valuable Player Award, alongside Kansas City Royals star Bobby Witt Jr., whom New York eliminated in the Divisional Series. Soto continued his excellence in the postseason, hitting .327\/.469\/.633, while Judge struggled, slashing just .184\/.304\/.408 in October.<\/p>\n

Soto, 26, is expected to shatter the nine-year, $360 million contract Judge received just two years ago at age 30. It is extremely rare for a player of Soto\u2019s caliber to hit free agency at such a young age, but his remarkable r\u00e9sum\u00e9 has many projecting record-length contract that guarantees north of $600 million.<\/p>\n

The four-time All-Star outfielder debuted with the Washington Nationals at age 19, won a World Series at 21, and among players with at least 3,000 plate appearances through their age-25 seasons, Soto ranks eighth in OPS+ \u2014 behind only Ty Cobb, Mickey Mantle, Mike Trout, Jimmie Foxx, Albert Pujols, Tris Speaker, and Rogers Hornsby.<\/p>\n

Soto has drawn at least 129 walks in four consecutive seasons, a feat matched only by Barry Bonds, and already has more career walks than legends like Ichiro Suzuki and Ernie Banks.<\/p>\n

Negotiating such historic long-term contracts takes time, especially with Boras involved, but most reports suggest the process could wrap up by the Winter Meetings.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnlike previous off-seasons, when Boras would drag out negotiations to squeeze the market for its last dollar, he\u2019ll likely limit the tour to one round,\u201d Klapisch\u00a0said, noting last winter\u2019s struggles with top clients Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery. \u201cFor that reason, observers believe Soto and Boras will choose a finalist by the first or second week of December.\u201d<\/p>\n

Boras also has to account for other big-name clients including Pete Alonso, Alex Bregman and Snell, who exercised his opt-out with San Francisco. All of them are seemingly waiting for Soto to set the market before they begin negotiations.<\/p>\n

With that accelerated timeline in mind, Steinbrenner and his team have limited time to strategize. Klapisch\u00a0wrote\u00a0that the Yankees\u2019 owner is \u201call in\u201d on Soto and will need to negotiate \u201caggressively\u201d from the jump.<\/p>\n

The Yankees have had a one-year head start in selling Soto on the prospect of playing in pinstripes\u2014an advantage other suitors lack. But with Mets owner Steve Cohen determined not to be outbid, the question becomes: How high is Steinbrenner willing to go? And if their final offer falls short, will their sales pitch be enticing enough for Soto to take a slight pay cut?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The New York Yankees are set to meet with free-agent superstar Juan Soto on Monday. Dec 21, 2022; Bronx, New York, USA; Hal Steinbrenner during a press… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1784,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1783","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"\nBREAKING: Yankees Make Final Preparations Before Juan Soto Meeting - 24\/7 News America<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=1783\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"BREAKING: Yankees Make Final Preparations Before Juan Soto Meeting - 24\/7 News America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The New York Yankees are set to meet with free-agent superstar Juan Soto on Monday. 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