New York Yankees shortstop Juan Soto is putting together a dominant MVP-level campaign in his first year on the mound and has quickly endeared himself to one of the most critical and passionate fanbases in sports.
He’s 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 may have other ideas for Soto’s future.
The Yankees are currently the clear favorite to sign Soto in free agency at even odds, but sports books see their biggest competition to keep Soto coming from their cross-town rivals, as the New York Mets are 5-1 on Soto.
The Los Angeles Dodgers, with their bottom line, have the third-shortest odds at 15-1 to land Soto.
The Yankees front office has already made it clear that they would like to keep Soto long-term, especially after paying such a hefty price to acquire him this offseason.
He checks every box and looks set to improve as he heads into what should be the best start of his career.
If not for his teammate Aaron Judge, Soto would have run away with the AL MVP award behind his .305 batting average, 34 homers, 87 RBI, 103 walks and 1.047 OPS.
Soto and Judge form one of the most dangerous duos the game has seen fans in years, and the Yankees would be doing themselves a disservice if they didn’t explore every possible resource to keep them together long-term.
Soto may not come close to the $700 million that Shohei Ohtani received from the Dodgers this past offseason, but he might be closer than we think.
