Yankees' Juan Soto sets himself up for offseason payday that could leave Aaron Judge's deal in the dust

SEATTLE – Aaron Judge had what is generally considered the best “walk year” in Major League Baseball history two seasons ago.

After turning down the Yankees pre-Opening Day contract extension offer of $213.5 million, Judge embarked on a 2022 regular season that saw him hit an American League record 62 homers en route to winning his first MVP award.

Judge parlayed that into a nine-year, $364-million deal that will keep him a Yankee into his 40’s.

It was a mic drop if there ever was one when it comes to a player handling of the pressure of impending free agency.

Juan Soto, though not quite on par, has put together a year that at least is in Judge's ballpark.

Arriving via trade last winter from the Padres and accompanied by a sea of superlatives – longtime GM Brian Cashman, who typically tries to avoid stoking the hype machine, described Soto’s bat as “transformational” and called the outfielder a “Hall-of-Fame-caliber-type player” – the 25-year-old embraced those expectations rather than running from them.

And with less than two weeks left in the regular season, Soto has set himself up for an offseason payday all but a lock to leave Judge’s contract in the dust.

“Just a great player,” manager Aaron Boone has said of Soto once, twice, a hundred times this season.

Soto went 2-for-2 with two walks in Tuesday night’s 11-2 victory over the Mariners, a performance that included a two-run homer in the fifth inning that allowed him to reach three career milestones at once.

The blast, an opposite-field shot off Mariners righthander Bryan Woo, who in two previous starts against the Yankees had not allowed a run, gave Soto career homer No. 200. It also marked his first career 40-homer season. Most significant to Soto, he has now one homer in each of MLB’s 30 ballparks.

“It’s a great feeling for me,” said Soto, who back in spring training mentioned openly talked about it as a goal. “So many ballparks, so many different dimensions. I just wanted to get all of them checked [off]. What a way to go to free agency, with homers in all 30 ballparks.”

What, indeed, a way to go into free agency.

Although Soto, by his standards, has been subpar of late – hitting .214 with a .727 OPS in his previous 24 games – he nonetheless entered Wednesday hitting .287 with those 40 homers, 103 RBIs and a .994 OPS. His 121 walks are second-most on the club – behind Judge’s 123 – helping Soto to a robust .417 on-base percentage.

“You’re always like, ‘Man, this guy is just 25, maybe he’s just scratching the surface of who he is,’” Boone said after Tuesday’s game. “In a lot of ways, he’s not necessarily even entered his prime. Maybe he’s entering it now. So I think we all would acknowledge that we’re watching a really special hitter.”

A hitter who this season teamed with Judge to create one of the great single-season one-two lineup punches in history.

With Soto reaching 40 homers, he and Judge, who leads everyone with 53, became the third pair of Yankees teammates with 40 or more homers in a single season, joining Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig (1927, ’30, ‘31) and Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris (1961).

"Those are baseball legends you’re talking about,” Judge said. “So to get an opportunity to share something like that with Soto, who’s such a special player in his own right, it’s definitely something that we enjoy.”

By all accounts, Soto has enjoyed his time with the Yankees and has consistently said as much when asked (which has been a lot).

Still, like any Scott Boras star player set to hit the free agent market, Soto hasn’t tipped his hand.

The prevailing industry expectation is Soto landing a free agent package well in excess of $500 million, with $600 million-plus not out of the question. Only a handful of teams are willing to play on those financial fields, and the Yankees are certainly one of them.

His free agency will be the storyline of the baseball offseason but Soto, from the start of the spring, said his 2024 focus would be on winning a title, an experience had once before with the Nationals in 2019.

“We have everything that we need,” Soto said in the spring. “The talent, the organization we are, it’s amazing. It’s incredible. And we’re more than excited about this season.”

Soto has played that way.