Why Yankees slugger Juan Soto could reportedly reset the market as a free agent

All-Star New York Yankees outfielder Juan Soto revealed ahead of Opening Day that he is craving stability as he remains set to reach free agency this coming fall. 

For a piece published Wednesday, Brittany Ghiroli of The Athletic shared that Soto's working relationship with big-name agent Scott Boras could cause the 25-year-old to attempt to reset the market shortly after the 2024 World Series concludes. 

"There is a faction of executives," Ghiroli explained, "who believe Boras wields perhaps too much influence over Soto, that believe he has significant input on, for example, where Soto should hit in the batting order and what Soto should say to the media."

One source told Ghiroli that Soto has "been fully Boras-ized." 

For what it's worth, Soto said for the article that he has "trust" in Boras and wants the two "to do everything together and push together." However, Boras denied having an overly strong influence on the slugger. 

"Juan Soto makes his own decisions and own choices," Boras told Ghiroli. "He’s a man beyond his years and is more than capable of making decisions his own way." 

Boras also referred to Soto as "very much an in-depth and independent thinker." 

Soto joined the Yankees from the San Diego Padres via a trade in December and quickly became a New York fan-favorite with early performances in the field and at the plate. Across his first six regular-season games with the Bronx Bombers, Soto has hit .417 with one home run, four RBI and a 1.101 OPS. 

Ghiroli passes along that "many in the industry expect" the bidding for Soto's services "will start at $500M." As much as the Yankees would love to keep Soto in the same lineup as 2022 American League Most Valuable Player Aaron Judge, numerous analysts and reporters believe big-spending New York Mets owner Steve Cohen will take a real swing at landing Soto following the club's quiet winter. 

"If his OPS has the number 1 in front of it," one executive said about Soto, "he will get paid." 

Plenty can and will change between now and October, but it sounds this spring like the word "discount" won't be part of Soto's vocabulary whenever his camp begins contract negotiations with the Yankees and other clubs.