{"id":8897,"date":"2024-12-09T03:32:45","date_gmt":"2024-12-09T03:32:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=8897"},"modified":"2024-12-09T03:32:45","modified_gmt":"2024-12-09T03:32:45","slug":"yankees-last-best-pitch-for-juan-soto-has-everything-to-do-with-aaron-judge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=8897","title":{"rendered":"Yankees last, best pitch for Juan Soto has everything to do with Aaron Judge"},"content":{"rendered":"
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World Series – Los Angeles Dodgers v New York Yankees – Game 5 \/ Luke Hales\/Getty Images<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n
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MLB fans are anxiously waiting for free agent outfielder Juan Soto to make a decision. After an incredible season with the\u00a0New York Yankees, where he finished third in AL MVP voting and was three wins away from a second World Series title, Soto is set to command a record-breaking contract.<\/p>\n

Five teams are heavily linked to Soto this winter \u2014 the Yankees,\u00a0New York Mets,\u00a0Boston Red Sox,\u00a0Toronto Blue Jays, and\u00a0Los Angeles Dodgers. Soto is a matter of hours away from a decision, and multiple reports indicate\u00a0Soto will earn a contract well over $700 million total. The Yankees are one team that has an offer in that territory. But what gives them the advantage over the aforementioned teams besides money.<\/p>\n

New York Post MLB insider Jon Heyman wrote that the Yankees’s edge in the Soto sweepstakes is Aaron Judge. Heyman brings up that Judge said he didn’t care if Soto earned a more lucrative contract than him, and that “word is Soto loves Judge behind him in the lineup and as leader in the clubhouse.”<\/p>\n

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