It was quite a season for Yankees star outfielder Juan Soto, who is just a little more than a year removed from arriving in the Bronx via a trade with the Padres. He hit .288 with a .415 on-base percentage and a .569 slugging mark. Yankees Stadium suited him well, as he knocks 41 home runs, though he hit well on the road, too, as 21 of those homers came away from the Stadium.
Soto was there for the Yankees, too, in the playoffs. While much was made of the ups and downs of center fielder Aaron Judge throughout the playoffs, there was no doubt about Soto’s contributions: He his .327 with a scintillating 1.102 OPS, knocking four homers in 14 games.
But the Yankees’ meltdown in Game 5 of the World Series on Wednesday marked the end of 2024 in baseball and, for Soto, may have marked the end of his Yankees career as he goes into one of the most anticipated free agencies in baseball history.
Before all that begins, though, Soto drew attention by spending some time—while the Dodgers were celebrating their title out on the field and the rest of the Yankees had disappeared into the clubhouse—wistfully looking up at the sky in the Yankees dugout.
Juan Soto Spent Final 2024 Moment Alone in Dugout
As MLB.com writer Bryan Koch wrote on Twitter/X in a post that garnered nearly 500,000 views in nine hours: “Juan Soto was the last player to leave the dugout, pointing to the sky in thanks before departing. Was this his last moment in a Yankees uniform?”
https://twitter.com/BryanHoch/status/1851835555136331807
Yankees Will Have Competition
It is a fair question. Soto the biggest free-agent targets in MLB this offseason—arguably the biggest pure position player to hit free agency at such a young age (25) in league history. He could get a deal that is on par with the $700 million the Dodgers gave to Shohei Ohtani last year, though Ohtani is expected to return to pitching next season after recovering from Tommy John surgery.
Soto’s financial range is probably around that of Ohtani on the high end, with a bit north of $500 million on the low end. That’s a big range, of course, and there are questions as to how far the Yankees will go to match it.
Soto has been rumored to be the recipient of a blank-check offer from a small handful of teams, most notably the Mets—though the Nationals, Cubs and even the Dodgers have been mentioned as possibilities.
It was believed that the Yankees could pretty much cinch a re-signing of Soto by winning the World Series and using that momentum to keep him in place. But the loss ends that hope. And might end Soto’s Yankees career.
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