The New York Yankees invested important assets to get Juan Soto from the San Diego Padres and absorb his projected $30 million salary for 2024.
He will be a free agent after next season, though.
That means one thing for New York: there is a sense of urgency to win.
And to win, they need to put together a truly competitive squad with few holes and lots of offensive firepower.
“The Yankees completed their trade for Juan Soto yesterday. The clock is already ticking,” MLB Network Radio tweeted with words of former MLB player and current analyst Ryan Spilborghs.
The Yankees completed their trade for Juan Soto yesterday.
The clock is already ticking.#Yankees | #RepBX pic.twitter.com/0FfIHtnC2U
— MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM (@MLBNetworkRadio) December 7, 2023
The clock is ticking for the Yankees to bring in Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell, Jordan Montgomery or another established ace via free agency or trade.
The clock is ticking to make sure the player development staff comes up with a plan to salvage Giancarlo Stanton’s career and get the best out of veteran DJ LeMahieu and young guys like Anthony Volpe and Austin Wells, among others.
The clock is ticking to bolster the bullpen and make it a top-notch unit that allows the Yankees to shorten games.
In short, the Yankees, with the acquisition of Soto, are virtually obligated to invest all their energy, money, and resources into making the 2024 roster a truly top one.
If they do this and reach a deep playoff series, that would be an excellent foundation for a future case in negotiations to retain Soto beyond 2024.
The best way to convince him to stick around is winning, or at least being committed to that.
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