SAN ANTONIO — Yankees general manager Brian Cashman has begun talks with agent Scott Boras about keeping Juan Soto in New York, and has also discussed hard-hitting first baseman Pete Alonso.
Cashman said he spoke with Boras during Monday’s general managers’ meeting and said he spoke with Soto after the Yankees’ season ended with a five-game losing streak to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series.
“I took the opportunity to thank him for everything and told him I would be in touch,” Cashman said Tuesday. “And since then, of course, I’ve talked to Scott, so he’ll get a feel for the dance steps that Juan Soto wants and he’ll keep us updated.”
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Soto, a 26-year-old free agent, is expected to sign a contract worth more than $500 million. New York acquired him from San Diego in December, and Soto has batted .288 with 41 home runs, 109 RBIs and 129 walks, combining with Aaron Judge to form a powerful one-two punch at No. 2 and No. 3 in the batting order. did. In Game 5 of the American League Championship Series against Cleveland, Soto hit a three-run homer in the 10th inning, giving the Yankees their first pennant since 2009.
After the World Series loss, Soto said, “I plan on playing for all 30 teams,” and “I don’t want to say who has an advantage.”
Cashman said New York is willing to meet with Soto as many times as he wants.
“We certainly have an interest in retaining him and we’re going to do everything we can to do that,” Cashman said. “It’s going to be either we keep him and re-sign him or if we can’t do that we’re forced to go in another direction. There’s a lot of different players that could be and impact this roster in different ways.
“Obviously, that pressure point is not with us today, but it exists in the market every winter, so those are tough decisions that have to be made.”
Alonso and third baseman Alex Bregman are the top free agents, also represented by Boras.
In addition to the Yankees, the Mets and Dodgers, both led by billionaire owner Steve Cohen, are among the teams that could offer Soto money. Cashman wouldn’t express how much of a rival the Mets are for Soto’s signature.
“They want to win. They’re in a big market with us. They’ve had a taste of success this year and they want to go even further,” Cashman said. “It’s just the nature of the beast, and it’s not just big market owners with deep pockets that are signing players to big contracts. I mean, you saw the San Diego Padres sitting on the West Coast. They imported a lot of big-time players on big-time contracts.
