NYY News: The $700M+ Man

New York Post | Jon Heyman : Heyman reports that both the Yankees and Mets have upped their respective offers to Juan Soto to the $710-$730 million range.

Theres no word yet on if the Red Sox, Blue Jays, or Dodgers remain in the race.

Its important to note that such a figure could include deferred money, but its still obviously a titanic figure, and one that would break the record Shohei Ohtani set last winter for the largest contract in the history of American sports.

It truly seems like both New York teams are in it down to the wire, and that no one knows for sure what his intentions are.

There is a sentiment within the game that Sotos decision will come in the next day or two, but that might be all that can be said with confidence at this point.

ESPN | Jeff Passan : Per Passan, Japanese star Roki Sasaki is expected to be posted during the Winter Meetings.* This will open a 45-day window for the 23-year-old right-hander to negotiate with major league teams.

Sasaki will likely sign after January 15th, when international bonus pools reset, allowing him to sign for a bit more money, though the largest bonus pool in the game will still only amount to about $7.5 million.

The Yankees will assuredly do their due diligence on Sasaki, but many in the game seem to view the 23-year-old as a lock to join the defending champion Dodgers .

Passan himself says that its not quite a fait accompli and floats clubs like the Padres and Giants also in the hunt; well see.

*Speaking of said Winter Meetings, check out Andrews post for SB Nation yesterday if youre looking for a primer on the main events and expected news.

MLB Trade Rumors | Nick Deeds : Willy Adames has been floated as a plausible Plan B should the Yankees miss out on Juan Soto.

Well, hes off the board, with the Giants snaring a top free agent by inking Adames to a seven-year, $182-million deal.

The cream of the free agent infield crop now consists of just Alex Bregman, and if the Yankees fail bring back Soto, theyll have one fewer option in terms of replacement bats.

Also of note, outfielder Tyler ONeill and old Yankees nemesis Gary Sanchez signed with Baltimore on a three-year $49.5 million contract and a one-year, $8.5 million deal, respectively.

ONeill parlayed a quality performance in one season in Boston into a nice payday, while the Orioles get to reinforce their outfield.

Meanwhile, El Gary gets to return to the AL East and play his home games in a ballpark where hes slugged 11 homers in 33 career games (and Walltimore wont stand in his way).

Hes primarily a DH at this point but could spell Adley Rutschman every now and then behind the plate.

The Athletic | Patrick Mooney and Sahadev Sharma ($) : Opposing clubs have plucked coaches from the Yankees many times over in recent years, and its happened once more, with the Cubs snagging a former Yankees instructor.

The Cubs signed Jose Javier as their new big league first-base coach.

Javier served as a defensive coach focusing on fielding and baserunning at Triple-A last season..

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