SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Yankees general manager Brian Cashman has started talks with agent Scott Boras about keeping Juan Soto with New York, and they also discussed power-hitting first baseman Pete Alonso.
Cashman said he spoke Monday with Boras at the general managers meetings and revealed he had a conversation with Soto after the season, which ended with the Yankees losing the World Series to the Los Angeles Dodgers in five games.
“I had a chance to thank him for everything and told him we’d be in touch,” Cashman said Tuesday. "And then since that time I’ve talked to obviously Scott, as well, and so he’ll get a feel for the dance steps that Juan Soto wants and he’ll keep us in the loop.”
A free agent at age 26, Soto is expected to command a contract of $500 million or more. New York acquired him from San Diego in December, and Soto hit .288 with 41 homers, 109 RBIs and 129 walks, combining with Aaron Judge to form a powerful 1-2 punch at Nos. 2-3 in the batting order. Soto's three-run, 10th-inning homer in Game 5 of the American League Championship Series at Cleveland earned the Yankees their first pennant since 2009.
After the World Series defeat, Soto said: “I’m going to be available for all 30 teams” and “I don’t want to say anybody has any advantage.”
Cashman said New York is willing to meet with Soto as often as the player wants.
"We certainly have an interest in retaining him and we’ll put our best foot forward there," Cashman said. “That will either lead to us retaining him and signing him back or we’ll be forced to go to a different direction if we can't. And if we can't, there’s a lot of different players in this marketplace that can positively impact this roster in different ways.
“Clearly that pressure point’s not on us today, but it does exist in the marketplace every winter, so those are the tough decisions you have to make,” he added.
Top free agents include Alonso and third baseman Alex Bregman, also represented by Boras.
In addition to the Yankees, the Mets under billionaire owner Steve Cohen and the Dodgers are among the teams that could afford Soto. Cashman wouldn't express how much a rival the Mets are for Soto's signature.
“They want to win. They’re in a large market with us. They had a taste of success this year and they want to move the needle even more forward,” Cashman said. “That's just the nature of the beast, and big-market owners with deep pockets aren’t the only ones signing players to big deals. I mean, you’ve seen the San Diego Padres sitting out in the West Coast. They’ve imported a lot of big-time players with big-time contracts.”
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
Ronald Blum, The Associated Press
