"Juan Soto always going to be second fiddle to Aaron Judge" - Yankees analyst lists factors making Mets top contender for superstar free agent

Juan Soto's solitary season with the New York Yankees showed why he is one of the best hitters in the game. However, team captain Aaron Judge's regular season heroics have slightly overshadowed Soto's career-best season in terms of home runs.

With Soto expected to get a deal comparable to the $700,000,000 deal Shohei Ohtani signed with the Dodgers last year, Derek Levandowski of "Pinstripe Territories" reflected on where the Dominican could sign in free agency.

"I just don’t know that the Yankees can outbid the Mets. Usually, the Yankees can outbid another team if they want to, but Cohen is so much richer than everyone else," said Levandowski [4:05]

The Yankees analyst said the Dodgers and the Toronto Blue Jays too have the means to outbid the Bronx Bombers. However, he doesn't think Soto is interested in playing in Canada or the West Coast, favoring New York as the most desired location.

"But if the Mets are offering $100,000,000 more, or if he can be the franchise player there, let’s face it, he’s always going to be second fiddle to [Aaron] Judge in New York," said Levandowski [4:30]

Judge is a Yankees franchise player and will likely finish his career with the Bronx Bombers. Levandoski felt Soto wouldn't be able to be the face of the team if he played for the Yankees. The analyst thinks Soto wants to be the face of the team he plays, and the Yankees can't promise it.

Levandowski believes Juan Soto will sign a new contract sooner

Since Scott Boras is the agent of Juan Soto, many believe the Dominican will take some time before committing to a contract. However, Levandowski doesn't think that will be the case.

"I agree with the people who are a little bit tired of the whole ordeal. I do think that it might get done quicker than some of the other deals we’ve seen for Boras clients in recent years, like in January, February, or even March sometimes," said the analyst [5:07].

The analyst believes any team signing Soto will have to build a team around him and hence a deal will be done quickly.

"If you’re committing that much money, you want to do it at a point where you can still build around him, right? So, teams that don’t secure Juan Soto are going to start going out and getting other players, starting to plug some of these holes," said Levandowski.

The analyst feels Juan Soto will sign a deal during the 2024 MLB Winter Meetings, from December 8 to 12.