Yankees' Juan Soto speaks carefully about Mets' free-agency pursuit

While speaking with Jon Heyman of the New York Post ahead of Tuesday's game between the New York Yankees and New York Mets, Yankees outfielder Juan Soto understandably neither confirmed nor denied he could have agent Scott Boras chat with Mets owner Steve Cohen once free agency opens this fall.

"We will see," Soto said about hitting the open market after the World Series. "In the offseason, we will figure it out. I’ll let [Scott Boras] do his thing. We’re going to see."

Soto was routinely linked with the Mets throughout the spring before an alleged inside source said last month that the 25-year-old slugger would not "play for a joke of a team." 

While the Mets were floundering at that point of the season, they found some positive momentum in June and improved to 38-39 on the campaign via Tuesday's 9-7 win over the Yankees.

Soto joined the Yankees from the San Diego Padres in December and has repeatedly spoken fondly about featuring for the Bronx Bombers. That trend continued on Tuesday.

"It’s been great, it’s been a great experience," Soto told Heyman. "It’s been fun — great teammates, great players. It’s been great so far … It’s nice to hit in front of [Yankees captain Aaron Judge]. It just makes my job easier, and hopefully, I can make his job a little easier, too."

Across his first 78 games in pinstripes, Soto hit .305 with 19 home runs, 57 RBI and a 1.004 OPS. As much as Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner will want to keep Soto at a reasonable price, Heyman named the Mets as "the biggest outside threat to sign" the three-time All-Star ahead of Christmas.

"Cohen is the one owner that has the ability to buy almost anyone he wants," Heyman pointed out. "And give Cohen this. He wants to win enough he’s willing to lose serious loot. The Post reported the Mets lost $200M+ last year, and it stands to reason that this year should show comparable red ink with the payroll down only slightly and attendance also down."

In short, whispers about Cohen possibly stealing Soto from the Yankees won't be quieting down anytime soon.