Juan Soto eyeing a historic $700 million MLB free agency contract

Top free agent hitter Juan Soto’s new magic number is thought to be $700M (or more) — and that’s a solid $700M, not the record $700M contract that’s 97 percent deferred that Japanese superstar Shohei Ohtani received from the Dodgers.Word is that within two hours of the Yankees losing the World Series to Ohtani’s Dodgers in their Game 5 debacle, eight rival teams checked in with interest, and by Thursday morning, the number was up to 11.And while teams are disallowed from talking dollars for days, $700M is the number floating around even before his free agency can begin.Soto was said to enjoy his year with the Yankees (even if he was less than effusive after Game 5), and the Yankees see him as a “great guy,” not just an all-time great player.

But even they assume the contract/money will be the first priority (along with winning) when he decides where to play the next 13-plus years.(The Yankees seem resigned to go 13, but with him aiming to play into his 40s, 14 might actually be the minimum he’s looking for.

If he gets $700M for 14 years, he would become baseball’s first non-deferred $50M a year player.)The Yankees’ recent history suggests they aren’t market setters, as they re-signed the great, homegrown Aaron Judge but only by matching the Giants’ initial $360M offer, and only after club owner Hal Steinbrenner broke a split decision below him.So there’s some skepticism within Soto’s camp as to whether the Yankees will ultimately get this done for a player who isn’t homegrown.The Yankees are not acting like they are beholden to keeping it to Judge’s $40M salary.

Instead, they are far more interested in keeping baseball’s most dynamic lefty-righty slugging duo together.Judge’s priority is to keep winning, not to hold the franchise salary record, and while Soto stuck to the script and said all 30 teams have equal chances, his presence in the lineup/clubhouse is said to be seen as a plus.While the Yankees are the highest-revenue ...