If there’s one thing we know about Scott Boras’ pending free agent clients, it’s that contract negotiations typically don’t happen during the season. Why create a distraction when you are trying to increase your value?
There’s also the part where Boras creates a bidding war during the off-season for his client’s services to get the biggest deal possible.
The New York Yankees have Juan Soto for the 2024 season and given the way he and the team have started, the owners hope to retain him for the rest of his career.
In the last episode of “Yankees News and Views” Podcast by YES Network Reporter Jack CurryTeam owner Hal Steinbrenner expressed his desire to keep Soto in pinstripes forever.
“Well, I think we’d like to see him here for the rest of his career.” Steinbrenner said.. “I don’t think there’s any doubt about that. His agent, Scott (Boras), doesn’t usually make mid-season deals. Me neither. I think it could be a distraction, but like I said in spring training when I met them, I mean, this is a unique situation and a unique player.”
Soto is off to a good start, hitting .310 with 9 home runs and 34 RBIs for the American League East leaders (30-15).
Steinbrenner went on to say that he “wouldn’t be surprised” if there were talks with Boras during the season about a possible deal.
“I think it’s worth doing at some point,” Steinbrenner said. “I want to give Juan time to really adjust and make sure, you know, I have a conversation with him at some point. Make sure, obviously the most important thing: is this a place where it can be seen for a long time?
Boras wouldn’t add much to Steinbrenner’s desire to retain Soto, telling Curry that he’s “happy” to talk to the Yankees’ brass and that his client’s “singular focus is winning.”
While with the Washington Nationals in 2022, Soto reportedly turned down a 15-year, $440 million offer. In August of that season, unable to come to terms on an extension, the Nationals traded him to the San Diego Padres and he signed a one-year, $23 million contract.
In January, Soto and the Yankees reached a pre-arbitration agreement on a one-year, $31 million contract following a trade with the Padres.
That contract is coming to an end after this season, and after seeing what Shohei Ohtani signed for last offseason, it’s no surprise that Soto’s next deal, whether with the Yankees or another team, could come close or even eclipse what the Los Angeles Dodgers paid.
