Inside The Pinstripes

Insider Predicts Juan Soto's Free Agency Fate Hinges on Yankees Postseason Success

An ESPN insider believes the New York Yankees' only hope of re-signing Juan Soto is if they win it all this year.
Grant Young|
Oct 10, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; New York Yankees outfielder Juan Soto (22) reacts after hitting a pop-fly during the fifth inning against the Kansas City Royals during game four of the ALDS for the 2024 MLB Playoffs at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images
Oct 10, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; New York Yankees outfielder Juan Soto (22) reacts after hitting a pop-fly during the fifth inning against the Kansas City Royals during game four of the ALDS for the 2024 MLB Playoffs at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images | Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

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New York YankeesNew York MetsCleveland Guardians

The New York Yankees don't need any additional motivation to win the franchise's first World Series since 2009.

If New York ends their longest World Series-winning drought since the 18-season gap from 1978 to 1996 this season, it will prove that the team's investments in superstars Aaron Judge and Gerrit Cole, plus their trading for Juan Soto this past offseason, all worked out in their favor.

However, ESPN baseball insider Kiley McDaniel seems convinced that the Yankees potentially winning the World Series might mean even more when it comes to their hopeful investment into Soto's future.

"I tend to think that it's going to be a slightly hotter than normal market, and I think there's going to be a couple motivated bidders," McDaniel said when speaking with Buster Olney on a recent episode of the 'Baseball Tonight with Buster Olney' podcast. "So I would guess [Soto's contract is] somewhere from, if I want to be broad, I'll say $501-600 [million]. I think probably $550-560 [million] is probably where I'm going to land.

"If the Yankees win [the World Series], he returns. If the Yankees lose, he goes to the Mets," McDaniel continued.

Yankees fans will certainly not like hearing that Soto might sign with their cross-town rival if they aren't hoisting the Commissioner's Trophy at the end of this season.

They also won't like hearing that Olney later noted he thinks Soto will sign the Mets regardless of how the Yankees finish this postseason.

The stakes for the Yankees' upcoming ALCS against the Cleveland Guardians have just been raised.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers the New York Yankees, the New York Mets, and Women’s Basketball for On SI. 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. You can follow him on X: @GrvntYoung

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