Beyond Blue Jays: Cash-Rich Mariners Pose a New Challenge for Yankees in Juan Soto Pursuit

2023 offseason is proving to be a major test for the New York Yankees. While the Yankees faithful are showing their displeasure towards the team management during the regular and postseason, the Bronx Bombers’ major targets too are becoming tougher to get this offseason. The Bronx franchise went for Yoshinobu Yamamoto. However, now they have huge competition coming from their cross-town rivals. Consequently, Juan Soto seemed easier to get until now. With the potential entry of the Seattle Mariners, even that trade deal seems to be intensely tangled.

The Yankees and San Diego Padres were very far in their offers, leading to their talks getting stalled recently. Some teams have decided to take advantage of this temporary halt. First, it was the Toronto Blue Jays and now it seems the Sailors have started their voyage for Soto as well.

The entry of Mariners complicates the Juan Soto-New York Yankees equation

The interest of the Yankees in Soto was evident since the beginning of this offseason. Even after his huge salary, they were all in for him. Added to this, the Friars’ apparent desperation to lower their payroll, the stage was set for a blockbuster trade. If only things happened as simply as this, right?

The Pads asked for 5 to 6 big prospects for the Dominican slugger, which the Yankees found an absurd demand, leaving the table for the time being. They hoped that being the only team to show interest in Soto, they’d have an upper hand. But then the Toronto Blue Jays entered the race. The Yankees still were ahead of them at least due to their prospects.

The Mariners may have changed that situation. Earlier today, they traded their top prospect and veteran in exchange for two pitchers which emptied around $30 million space on their payroll. Now that deal did seem weird to most, but experts were quick to say that this means they can go all in on Soto. Unlike the Yankees, the Sailors have a very tightly maintained payroll, giving them cash to make this deal a real possibility.

Read more: Stalemate to Break Soon: Juan Soto Trade Talks Between Yankees and Padres Set to Resume

The Padres need pitchers; it’s known for a simple reason that their demands from the Yankees were very pitcher-heavy. This, coupled with the M’s need for a hitter, makes this a very desirable deal for them. All of this could ring huge alarm bells for the Bronx Bombers. Will the Yankees succeed in their quest or will others pounce on this opening?

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