Juan Soto’s agent: Yankees star had his future team decided before landing in New York
Juan Soto’s tremendous season with the New York Yankees was days away from becoming a pipedream.
His agent, Scott Boras, told USA TODAY Sports recently that Soto was destined to be a lifelong member of the San Diego Padres. Those plans changed when former owner Peter Seidler died Nov. 14, 2023.
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“If (Padres owner) Peter Seidler were still alive, none of this would be happening,“ Boras said. “Juan would have been with the Padres. He never would have been traded to the Yankees.”
As the Padres trimmed payroll, they shook baseball with the trade on Dec. 6, 2023, setting up one of the most anticipated free agency periods for a player in the game‘s history. Soto, despite Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner’s efforts, will become a free agent this offseason as a 26-year-old, likely receiving a contract of more than 10 years and around $600 million.
“Peter and I were knee-deep in Juan Soto (contract) discussions,” Boras said. “Well advanced. His illness really stopped the process because we knew the organization would be different. He wanted to push it through even though he was ill.”
Boras said that he was confident a deal would get done, a sentiment not often shared by the superagent, who routinely takes his clients to the open market to leverage the competition around his player. The Padres acquired Soto in 2022, as reports surfaced that the outfielder declined a 15-year, $440 million extension with the Washington Nationals.
The Yankees are expected to be joined by the New York Mets and Los Angeles Dodgers, among others, in pursuing Soto, who hit a career-high 41 home runs in the regular season, with a 178 OPS+, the second-highest of his career. He has gone 15 for 47 with four home runs and nine RBIs in the playoffs, which is good for a strong .319/.441/.638 mark.
Before he decides on his future, though, Soto hopes to extend the season by three more games. New York trails the Dodgers 3-1 in the World Series with Game 5 on Wednesday night.
