Inside The Pinstripes

Insider Calls Yankees' Dreaded Rival 'Legit' Player in Juan Soto Sweepstakes

The New York Yankees' arch-rivals are an undeniable threat to sign superstar Juan Soto this winter.

Grant Young

Sep 14, 2024; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees right fielder Juan Soto (22) reacts after hitting a single against the Boston Red Sox during the third inning at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images
Sep 14, 2024; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees right fielder Juan Soto (22) reacts after hitting a single against the Boston Red Sox during the third inning at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images / Brad Penner-Imagn Images
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The New York Yankees have a lot of competition when it comes to bringing Juan Soto back to the Bronx.

Soto is arguably the youngest, most talented hitter to hit the open market in at least the past few decades, and it's no surprise that a lot of MLB teams are willing to break the bank to sign him.

That said, only a fraction of those teams will be willing to spend anywhere between the $600-700 million that Soto will likely command in free agency this offseason.

Unfortunately for Yankees fans, one of these teams appears to be their biggest rival — which the New York Post's Jon Heyman alluded to in a November 11 article.

"The [San Francisco] Giants, who have tried hard to land superstars via free agency and trade (Bryce Harper, Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge to name a few), and Red Sox, who’ve slipped in the standings after recently sitting out big free agency, are also seen as legit Soto players," Heyman wrote.

ESPN's MLB insider Jeff Passan echoed this sentiment when he wrote, "Another team with Soto at the top of its want list: Boston. The Red Sox also have a meeting on the books with Soto this week," in a November 12 article.

The thought of Soto calling Fenway Park home for perhaps the next decade is enough to make Yankees fans feel sick.

However, they can feel a bit better knowing that New York (whether it be the Yankees or the Mets) seems to be the most likely landing spot for the 26-year-old slugger next season.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers the New York Yankees, the New York Mets, and Women’s Basketball for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco, where he also played Division 1 baseball for five years. He believes Mark Teixeira should have been a first ballot MLB Hall of Fame inductee.

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