New York Yankees outfielder Juan Soto is putting together a dominant MVP-level campaign in his first year in pinstripes and has quickly endeared himself to one of sports’ most critical and passionate fanbases.
He has done so well that Yankees fans are begging the team to throw a blank check at the 25-year-old when he hits free agency this offseason, but sportsbooks might have other ideas for Soto’s future.
The Yankees are currently the obvious favorite to sign Soto in free agency with even odds, but sportsbooks see their biggest competition to retain Soto coming from their cross-town rivals as the New York Mets are 5-1 to land Soto.
The Los Angeles Dodgers with their bottomless pit of money have the third-shortest odds at 15-1 to bring in Soto.
The Yankees front office has already made it abundantly clear that they would love to keep Soto long-term, especially after paying such a hefty price to obtain him this past offseason.
He checks every box and looks to still be improving as he heads into what should be the prime of his career.
If it weren’t for his teammate, Aaron Judge, Soto would be running away with the AL MVP award behind his .305 batting average, 34 homers, 87 RBIs, 103 walks, and 1.047 OPS.
Soto and Judge have formed one of the game’s most dangerous duos fans have seen in years, and the Yankees would be doing themselves a disservice if they didn’t explore every possible resource to keep them together for the long haul.
Soto might not approach the $700 million that Shohei Ohtani received from the Dodgers this past offseason, but he could get closer than we think.
