I expect a few of these types of 'announcements' going forward. First the Jays will chase Soto, soon Bregman - both fit perfectly into holes in the Jays lineup, both would have a weakening effect on their clubs by leaving which would help reduce the competition for the Jays. Will either sign here? Unlikely. But both are painfully obvious targets. The bullpen is also a painfully obvious are to attack but star free agents are few and far between there. Starting pitching is a less likely target with the depth there now and the high cost, even with stars available. Jays would have no interest in a star CF/SS/2B/C right now but might have interest at 1B if Vlad moves to 3B and/or Horwitz is part of a trade to improve elsewhere. Plus someone in the new year could get desperate at any position and drop into the Jays lap ala Semien in 2021.
The drop from Soto to #2 in the OF is big - 26 year old Soto 8.1 fWAR, #2 is 32 year old Jurickson Profar 4.3, then 32 year old Teoscar Hernández 3.5. Basically you lose a TON of value dropping from Soto to anyone else in the market. Plus Soto is in his prime and will be for years to come. If the Yankees are knocked out this round, and Soto continues to have 0 R 0 RBI (despite a 375 avg) you can bet the boo birds of NY will be out for blood. Yankee fans are known for being crazy with expectations (WS or bust every year). Yeah, Stanton is the big bum there, but Soto can see how the fans there act. Does he want to be part of that circus? Yeah, rewards are big, but day-to-day it can be a grind there I suspect. I'd bet he'd love to play with Vlad, it won't be the #1 factor, but it will be there. No idea how well he and Judge get along but there is lots of evidence Soto and Vlad do (like this from this year).
The drop from Soto to #2 in the OF is big - 26 year old Soto 8.1 fWAR, #2 is 32 year old Jurickson Profar 4.3, then 32 year old Teoscar Hernández 3.5. Basically you lose a TON of value dropping from Soto to anyone else in the market. Plus Soto is in his prime and will be for years to come. If the Yankees are knocked out this round, and Soto continues to have 0 R 0 RBI (despite a 375 avg) you can bet the boo birds of NY will be out for blood. Yankee fans are known for being crazy with expectations (WS or bust every year). Yeah, Stanton is the big bum there, but Soto can see how the fans there act. Does he want to be part of that circus? Yeah, rewards are big, but day-to-day it can be a grind there I suspect. I'd bet he'd love to play with Vlad, it won't be the #1 factor, but it will be there. No idea how well he and Judge get along but there is lots of evidence Soto and Vlad do (like this from this year).