2 contract extensions the Yankees should pursue, 2 they should avoid in 2024

Yankees contract extension to avoid: Juan Soto

"Avoid a contract extension with Juan Soto?! Are you f---ing stupid?!" Just hoooold up there, buddy. This has nothing to do with the Yankees' desire to keep him in the Bronx, or his fit with New York for the next 12 years.

Soto, as of this moment, doesn't want an extension. His agent, Scott Boras, is probably relentlessly advising against it. If neither of those things were true, the Yankees probably would've sealed the deal over a month ago.

Cashman came out and said, straight up, that almost nothing will prevent Soto from reaching free agency after 2024, something everybody already knew (but thick-headed opposing fans decided to laugh at because they read a headline rather than follow the story for two months).

Trying to work out an extension with Soto feels like it would do more harm than good because of how the line's seemingly been drawn. And if the Yankees are at the forefront of the "business" side of MLB's dealings, they should know better. A player of Soto's caliber and age represented by an agent like Boras does not sign an extension. He tests the open market, which is now beneficial more than ever for the top 10% of players in the game. Shohei Ohtani just got $700 million. Yoshinobu Yamamoto got $325 million. Aaron Judge got $360 million. Manny Machado got $350 million. Corey Seager got $325 million. Xander Bogaerts got $289 million. There is no logical reason, from a business standpoint, for Soto to make the biggest decision of his life before the proper time arrives.

Let the situation play out. Make a deep playoff run. Hell, maybe win a World Series? The Yankees need to provide Soto with a one-of-a-kind environment. The money's already there.