Should the Yankees be unable to make good on their “top priority” and re-sign superstar free agent Juan Soto, one backup plan involves Mets slugging star Pete Alonso plus pitching stars, perhaps former Cy Young winners Corbin Burnes or Blake Snell.
The Yankees are figuring they might be able to sign three to four stars if they fail to sign Soto. Switch-hitter Anthony Santander is another name that interests them. So is Alex Bregman, whose bonus is that he’s often an October standout — something needed around here.
They will also look at the top pitchers, including Burnes and Snell, who they tried for last winter and who will opt out of their contracts. Max Fried, Jack Flaherty (who pitched a nice Game 1 against them), Yusei Kikuchi and Sean Manaea (who’s also sure to opt out) are other possibilities.
But from here, Alonso, who’s tough, clutch and battle tested in New York and could make a worthy complement to Soto, is an imperfect fit as the Soto replacement since he’s a right-handed hitter as well as a homegrown Met.
An offense built around three right-handed sluggers isn’t optimal. Soto is the perfect lefty hitter to combine with Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton. The switch-hitter Santander also may make more sense to keep some lefty-righty balance.
The bigger issue, of course, is retaining Soto, with its importance becoming even clearer as the Yankees attempt to win this World Series with a lineup befitting a TV sitcom — it’s 2 ½ Men in October. (Soto and Stanton are two, and Gleyber Torres the half.)
The Yankees are understandably seen as the favorites to sign Soto since they are MLB’s highest-revenue team and he generally seems to be enjoying his time here. The issue is going to be the contract, and recent history suggests the Yankees won’t automatically be the high bidder. The Yankees do seem to understand it’s going to take a contract of at least 13 years, so that’s certainly a start (Soto, who just turned 26 Friday, is believed to want to play until he’s 40, so perhaps 14 or more is the magic number).
The Mets, who are expected to play for Soto, have deeper pockets, and the equally deep-pocketed Dodgers could be a dark horse. LA is making so much revenue on two-way international superstar Shohei Ohtani sponsorship/marketing deals that in addition to being the first 50-50 man, he also qualifies as a cash cow, allowing them to continue to sign stars. The Post reported the stacked Dodgers plan to go after Soto if he’s willing to go back west, and likely many more big-market teams will covet a rare proven free-agent star in his mid-20s.
The Yankees eventually did the right thing to retain the great Judge — and yes, he’s still great — thanks to team owner Hal Steinbrenner, who broke a split decision below him and matched the Giants’ opening $360M bid. The homegrown, historic Judge had a strong pull to return and left serious money on the table as the Padres signaled they would have topped $400M, and the Giants likely would have, too.
Soto seems to like it in The Bronx. But who’s to say if Soto is willing to sign for less after enduring two trades and waiting for free agency? And if anything, the price is going up with his big postseason.
