If Yankees Want Juan Soto, New York Must Outbid These Teams
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The Yankees are in on Juan Soto, but can they compete with the other clubs hungry to acquire the superstar outfielder?
As of right now, it seems like the answer to that question might be a no.
MLB.com polled 17 different front-office executives to get their sense of where Soto might be headed before next week's trade deadline. As much as a few of the execs predicted Soto will don pinstripes, New York was not one of the favorites.
Eight of the execs, according to MLB insider Mark Feinsand, predicted that the Padres would land Soto. Seven mentioned the Dodgers. The Yankees, Cardinals, Mariners, Mets and Rays each received recognition from three different execs in this poll.
This comes on the same day that Joel Sherman and Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported that St. Louis is a "potential front-runner," a club with a perfect mix of top prospects and young controllable players for Washington.
In that piece, from the Post, the Yankees were mentioned after the Cardinals, Padres and Dodgers.
Remember, the asking price for Soto is astronomically high. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, who first broke the news that Soto turned down a 15-year, $440 million contract from the Nationals, reported on Sunday that Washington is asking for "four to five top young players."
Do the Yankees have the ammunition to pull off that type of transaction?
New York certainly has top-tier talent in their farm system, assets that can headline the Nationals' post-Soto rebuild. Their top three prospects—shortstops Anthony Volpe and Oswald Peraza along with outfielder Jasson Dominguez—have been named in quite a few rumors over the last few weeks leading up to the deadline.
Would the Yankees be willing to include each of those three prospects in a deal for Soto? And then some? The Yankees still have to address their depleted pitching staff before the August 2 trade deadline as well.
Parades are better than prospects, but New York has to be smart. There's a balance.
READ: The Yankees’ 3 Biggest Trade Deadline Questions
Just a few days ago, Heyman acknowledged that while official requests in Soto talks are still unclear, the Yankees (and Mets) are unlikely to surrender all three of their top prospects in a trade with the Nationals. Rosenthal tweeted over the weekend that Washington isn't negotiating. They're asking for a specific package and if they don't get it, they're moving on.
All of that in mind, it seems like it's up to the Yankees to outbid those other clubs if they want Soto. They have the pieces to get it done, it's just a matter of pulling the trigger and wowing the Nationals with an offer they simply can't refuse.
We know for certain that the Yankees are a part of this process, though. YES Network's Jack Curry confirmed rumblings with a tweet on Sunday, explaining that New York reached out to the Nationals, expressing interest.
Expect more drama, speculation and rumors over the next week as teams jockey for position and grapple with the pros and cons of acquiring this generational talent.
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