MLB Execs Reveal Shocking Contract Projection For Yankees To Keep Juan Soto

The New York Yankees will have to bring out a big checkbook to keep Juan Soto in town long-term.

Jun 9, 2024; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees right fielder Juan Soto (22) watches from the dugout during the third inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Yankee Stadium. / Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Juan Soto and the New York Yankees are on track to potentially win the World Series this season. They have been dominant all season long and have shown no signs of slowing down at all.

The two parties went through a bit of a scare when Soto went out due to a forearm injury. Thankfully, he's back on the field and the injury was nothing serious.

While things are going great this season for both Soto and the Yankees, the future still looms large. Soto is set to hit free agency in the coming offseason and is not going to be easy to retain. New York knows that they'll have to pay big money if they want to keep him.

Now, we might have an idea of what kind of money the Yankees will be looking at paying.

ESPN put together a panel of 28 MLB executives and they have arrived at the number they think it will take to keep Soto in New York. That number is $498.4 million over 12.4 years with a $40.4 million AAV.

That may be the average number, but some speculated that Soto would command a number between $500 million to $599 million. A few others even predicted that a deal with the star slugger will need to be at $600 million or higher.

Looking at the future and where Soto might end up, the ESPN panel did give a predicton.

They believe that Soto will end up re-signing with the Yankees when everything is said and done. There are just a few teams that could even try to sign Soto for that kind of money.

Other teams that came up as potential suitors were the New York Mets, Texas Rangers, San Francisco Giants, Washington Nationals, and Toronto Blue Jays.

The 25-year-old superstar has put together a monster season so far in 2024 with New York. He has hit for a .318 average to go along with 17 home runs and 53 RBI's. Those numbers are going to get him paid very nicely.

Expect to continue hearing rumors and speculation about Soto's future. New York still feels good about its chances to retain the star outfielder, but other teams will be lurking. It will be interesting to see how things unfold in the offseason.