Aaron Judge: Yankees 'lucky' to have Juan Soto before free-agent contract decision | News, results, highlights, statistics and rumors

After a disappointing end to their 2024 season, the New York Yankees' focus now shifts to hoping they can retain Juan Soto as he prepares to hit free agency for the first time in his career.

After their 7-6 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 5 of the World Series, Aaron Judge said the Yankees were “lucky” to have Soto this year and expressed hope that they can keep him in the future.

There's no reason the Yankees can't keep Soto, but it does raise the question of whether or not the owners want to make that financial leap. Spotrac estimates that, taking arbitration projections into account, they already have $249.5 million in salary obligations for next season.

MLB's competitive balance tax for 2025 is set at $241 million. If Soto's deal ends up being worth nearly $50 million annually, the Yankees would pay nearly $300 million, not counting penalties for exceeding the CBT for the fourth year in a row.

Yankees managing partner Hal Steinbrenner told reporters in May that the team's current payroll was “simply not financially sustainable for us” because of the tax penalties they would have to pay.

Steinbrenner made those comments long before the Yankees advanced to the World Series for the first time since 2009, but since taking over the Yankees' day-to-day operations, he has also been far more financially conservative in payroll than his father, George Club, was in November 2008.

Everyone expected Soto to do well for the Yankees when he was acquired from the San Diego Padres in December 2023, but he managed to exceed much of the hype. The four-time All-Star hit .288/.419/.569 with a career-high 41 home runs in 157 games during the regular season.

Soto added to his Yankees history with a fantastic postseason performance. He hit .327/.469/.633 in 14 games and became a New York icon with his go-ahead home run in the 10th inning of Game 5 of the ALCS against the Cleveland Guardians, which sent the Yankees to the World Series.

Of course, Soto's high level of performance combined with his age at just 26 years old means he'll be cashing in on a huge contract this offseason.

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic and Fox Sports recently said further Foul territory that Soto's average annual salary in his next deal “will start at five.”

According to The Athletic's Jim BowdenMLB executives expect Soto's deal to be worth between $550 million and $650 million overall.

Shohei Ohtani is currently the only player with an average annual salary of at least $45 million and a total contract value of more than $430 million.

The pairing of Soto and Judge was the most productive duo in the MLB. Their combined 20.3 FanGraphs Wins Above Replacement was the most of any teammate in 2024.

It would be foolish to part them at this point after the season they both had, but the Yankees will have to fight if they want to keep Soto in 2025 and beyond.