By: Ethan Semendinger
February 16th, 2024
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Brian Cashman had some comments on the contract statuses about Juan Soto and Gleyber Torres yesterday. Let's talk about them.
Juan Soto:
The Yankees made a major splash early on during the hot stove season to acquire Juan Soto from the San Diego Padres. At the time, this was a hopeful sign of the Yankees making an all-in push on the 2024 season as they had just acquired Alex Verdugo in a separate trade and also brought in Trent Grisham from the Padres. Some important pieces were moved away from- mainly the likes of Michael King and Drew Thorpe- to facilitate these moves, but early on there was a lot of hope on the horizon for Yankees fans.
Unfortunately, the offseason stagnated from here and though there are still potential moves that could be made (*cough* *cough* Blake Snell and Cody Bellinger are still out there!), it seems as though the Yankees have their roster going into the 2024 season.
Is it enough to win?
To me, that's the biggest question in keeping Juan Soto.
Now, it's not a surprise that Brian Cashman thinks Juan Soto will test free agency. It's something we all have a good inkling about, as Soto is a client of Scott Boras: the most notorious contract negotiator in the MLB, who rarely (if ever) signs extensions with teams during a contract year. And, while Scott Boras clients often seem to chase the money (as it in his their and his best interest to do so), with those dollar figures needs to be a team that wins.
If the Yankees can show Juan Soto that they are a winning franchise, with a winning environment and culture, that gives them a large competitive advantage in his pending sweepstakes. It would help make them a team to re-sign with, instead of leaving for somewhere else next offseason.
Gleyber Torres
Gleyber Torres has been a mainstay in the Yankees infield since 2018. Since then, he has proven to be a very good- though at times, incredibly frustrating to watch- player. He is now entering into his 7th year in pinstripes and it looks like it will be his last confirmed season in the Bronx.
That doesn't mean he won't be back, but given Brian Cashman's comments, it appears as though the Yankees are willing to play-ball with the situation surrounding their long-term second baseman and his future with the ballclub.
Currently, the Yankees have a second baseman under contract through the 2026 season in DJ LeMahieu. He serves as a clear option to take over the position full-time if Gleyber Torres was to leave in free agency.
Outside of LeMahieu, the Yankees also have a plethora of infield talent among the likes of Oswald Peraza and Jorbit Vivas (acquired for Trey Sweeney this offseason). Both of these players are ready to play at the MLB level, and given their low salary and young age, they could be the future options allowing the Yankees to move on from Torres.
Given all this, it would seem unsurprising the Yankees haven't had a discourse with Torres and his team about a potential extension, though this does leave me the most intrigued.
I have always been hesitant around Gleyber, but the stats back him up better than I believe he is: a pretty consistent 3.0 bWAR player. That's comfortably in the range of being hard to replace, but not good enough for a superstar contract. The fact that there has been, apparently, no communication about extensions leads me to believe the Yankees are playing with Torres for their last season.
