With Juan Soto, Gerrit Cole, and Aaron Judge in pinstripes, the New York Yankees are now a power-packed team. Until a few days ago, Yoshinobu Yamamoto may have been part of the star squad, but the Los Angeles Dodgers stole that opportunity. The Bronx favored their in-house ace Gerrit Cole, over the MLB-untested Japanese youth. Why did NYY hold back?

While there was immense competition among some of the biggest players in MLB, the Yanks were quite close contenders. Yet they hesitated to push back, especially with the New York Mets and the Los Angeles Dodgers making an offer to Yoshi worth more than $300 million. If the reason had to do anything with their incumbent pitcher, could they repeat this action next December for their other beloved player? 

Navigating High-Stakes Contract Dilemma, New York Yankees Have to Juggle Between Judge and Soto

Consider this thought-provoking perspective. MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch posed a question, “..Will they pay Juan Soto more than Aaron Judge?”. It is not a secret that Juan Soto is a one-year rental. And now, having saved $300 million i.e. foregoing the former Orix Buffaloes star, New York’s next aggressive move would unquestionably be to extend Soto’s contract next year. However, there might be inhibitions in the Bronx about their Captain. 

2024 will be a period of tough decisions for Hal Steinbrenner. To keep Soto in pinstripes for the next decade, he might very well have to pay him more than Aaron Judge. The only feasible way to get Soto for the long term is to make him the highest-paid player in the history of the Yankees. An understandably strange situation for not just the captain but the team owner too.

The Yankees don’t anticipate securing Soto’s contract anytime soon, perhaps not until next November. In the meantime, the Yankees’ leadership would need to determine a feasible figure to handle this situation. Whether negotiated now or later, acquiring Soto will reportedly exceed $500 million. He declined a $440 million offer from the Nationals in 2022, but having said that, the Yankees’ not pursuing Yoshi as aggressively as his other suitors implies a certain power-dynamics predicament with Gerrit Cole. 

Read More : Aaron Judge Gets $40 Million – Will Juan Soto Surpass That in an Extension or Will the Yankees Look Another Way?

The NY Post’s Jon Heyman shared another view on why the Bronx did not go above and beyond to secure the 25-year-old ace. One, because “they thought $300M was right offer”. And two, they allegedly did not want anyone to surpass Cole in terms of contract value. 

“They didn’t believe anyone should have a bigger deal than Gerrit Cole. NYY offered optout after 5 yrs but not a $50M signing bonus. Highly unlikely it mattered.” This statement makes sense in a way. Had the club signed Yamamoto, he’d go on to become the highest-paid pitcher ever in the Bronx, overtaking Cole. Was New York ready for that?  Maybe not. The real question however remains. Will this pattern continue next year with Juan Soto’s free agency, keeping Judge’s deal in mind?

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