NEW YORK — It was an hour into Halloween before Juan Soto finally divulged his thoughts and feelings about his free agency. The time was fitting, since the scariest thing that could happen to the Yankees would be the generational talent walking away and signing with another team.
That’s certainly more of a reality now than it was when the Yankees walked into the stadium Wednesday morning. Moments after the Yankees lost the World Series to the Dodgers, Soto was already talking about New York in the past tense.
“Leaving any place that is a winning team is always hard,” Soto said. “Definitely, this place was very special. It’s been a blast for me. I’ve been really happy. Definitely, if I’m here or not, I’ll be really happy for the things that happened and the people that I got to know in here. This was a really special group. But at the end of the day, we will see what’s going to happen.”
[RELATED: Full coverage of the World Series]
Soto, for all intents and purposes, entered free agency as he was speaking to reporters in the clubhouse, even though he was still wearing his fitted Yankees cap and team-branded performance shirt. He is now the sport’s most coveted young free-agent since Álex Rodríguez hit the open market in the winter of 2000. Early Thursday morning was the first time Soto openly discussed his emotions about free agency — which is his first opportunity to explore and decide on his future since he sprang into the major leagues in 2018.
He didn’t hold back.
“I don’t know the teams that want to come after me,” Soto said. “But definitely, I’ll be open to listening to every single team. I don’t have any doors closed, or anything like that. I’m going to be available for all 30 teams.”
As frosty as Soto’s words might sound to the Bronx faithful, it was clear that he was emotional in what might be his final moments as a Yankee. After the final out of the World Series, Soto watched the Dodgers celebrate on the field that he called home for seven months, and then he went up to the top step of the dugout. He took a second, then pointed up toward the sky.
Soto was the last player to leave the Yankees dugout.
“This is going to stay in my heart for the rest of my life,” he said. “This group of guys. This year was really special for me.”
His eyes welled up when he was asked what was going through his mind during that moment in the dugout. Besides admitting that he was feeling a lot of emotions, he kept the rest to himself.
“I think everybody in the room wants him back,” Aaron Judge said. “You can look at the stats and what he did on the field. I think the type of leader he is in this clubhouse. He just does a lot of the little things that people don’t notice that truly make him one of the best players, if not the best player in the game.
“I definitely enjoyed getting the chance to have a front row seat all season long — watching his at-bats, watching his approach. The way he would talk about certain pitchers and how they would attack him and what he’s looking for. He’s a scientist up there. Definitely would love to see him in pinstripes for quite a long time.”
Giancarlo Stanton had only three words for Soto on the precipice of free agency: “Stay with us.”
Yankees team owner Hal Steinbrenner will have to pay up for that to happen. Soto is expected to command more than $500 million in what is sure to be a wild free agency. The four-time All-Star outfielder finished his walk year with the fourth-best fWAR (8.1) in the major leagues. He crushed a career-best 41 home runs and posted a .989 OPS across 157 games. Soto said the team that signs him will get a guy who plays hard every day and will be the best version of himself in the clubhouse and outside of it, inmploring prospective suitors to ask any of his teammates how much he cares about winning.
Judge hoped that Soto enjoyed his time in pinstripes, because the four-time Silver Slugger certainly brought a lot of joy to the Yankees.
“I think he got a little taste of the excitement here, the history here,” Judge said. “What it truly means to be a Yankee, he fit every single category. It’s difficult coming to a new team. He spoke up many times in this clubhouse, in meetings. It’s little things like that that people don’t see. But this guy has no fear. He wants to be a leader. He wants to be in the spotlight. He wants to have those big moments. And when you’re a Yankee you’re going to be put in those situations.
“I would love to have him back. But I’m going to give him time to think about it. Do what he needs to do with his family, and we’ll see what happens.”
What will Soto prioritize in free agency?
Playing for a winning team is of the utmost importance to the 26-year-old. Even if his organization is not the last team standing, he emphasized how much he wants to play in the World Series every year. In that regard, the Yankees could fit the description. But when Soto was asked whether they might have a leg up over other interested teams, especially given that he enjoyed a career year in the Bronx and helped take the club to the Fall Classic, he didn’t hesitate to throw ice-cold water on that presumption.
“I feel like every team has the same opportunities when I’m going to free agency,” Soto said. “I don’t want to say any team has any advantage.”
From now until the time Soto signs, everyone will be looking for signs of where he’ll spend the next part of his career. Since he’s a Scott Boras client, we already know that the superagent has a tendency to wait it out until teams give him their best and highest offers. Last year, several of Boras’ top free agents didn’t sign until the middle or end of spring training in March. Soto is fully prepared for that same process and outcome with his own free agency.
“It’s all about the teams, how far they want to take it and how much they want to go back and forth,” Soto said. “I’m here. They are the ones that have to come over. We’re going to be waiting until somebody comes over. I can’t control if any team wants to call in February. So, we will see what happens. They know where I’m at.”
Yankees fans were loud all year about wanting Soto to stay in pinstripes. Some showed up to the ballpark with blank checks, or the dollar amount filled out to $700 million and counting. When asked if their gestures will have any impact on his decision this winter, Soto laughed before retorting, “It will probably impact the decision of the ownership.”
It’s hard to imagine the Yankees advancing to their first World Series since 2009 this year without the iconic duo of Soto and Judge leading them there. All year, Soto looked like the final puzzle piece to a Yankees team that had been unable to get over the hump without him. They got as far as Game 5 of the Fall Classic against a Dodgers superteam that looked destined to win it all the moment they bet the house on Shohei Ohtani.
Will Soto be able to easily walk away from all that he built with the Yankees this year? Will the Yankees really let him? Those two questions will follow every step of what is sure to be one of the most extraordinary free-agent signings in the history of Major League Baseball.
Stay tuned. This is only the beginning.
Deesha Thosar is an MLB reporter for FOX Sports. She previously covered the Mets as a beat reporter for the New York Daily News. The daughter of Indian immigrants, Deesha grew up on Long Island and now lives in Queens. Follow her on Twitter at @DeeshaThosar.
[Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily.]
Get more from Major League Baseball Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
