Inside Juan Soto's emotional exit from the Yankees clubhouse: 'Stay with us'

NEW YORK – It took an hour after Halloween for Juan Soto to finally reveal his thoughts and feelings about his free agency. The timing was good because the worst thing that could happen to the Yankees would be for the generational talent to leave and sign with another team.

That's certainly more of a reality now than it was when the Yankees entered the stadium Wednesday morning. Shortly after the Yankees lost the World Series to the Dodgers, Soto was already talking about New York in the past tense.

“Leaving any place where there’s a winning team is always hard,” Soto said. “This place was definitely very special. It was great fun for me. I was really happy. Whether I'm here or not, I'm definitely going to be really happy about the things that happened and the people that I met.” This was a really special group, but at the end of the day we'll see what happens will happen.

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For all intents and purposes, Soto entered free agency as he spoke to reporters in the clubhouse, although he still wore his fitted Yankees cap and performance shirt with the team logo. Since hitting the open market in the winter of 2000, Álex Rodríguez has become the sport's most sought-after young free agent. Early Thursday morning, Soto spoke openly for the first time about his feelings about free agents – this is his first opportunity to explore them and make a decision about his future since jumping to 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 I will definitely listen to every single team. I don't have any locked doors or anything like that. I will be available for all 30 teams.”

As frosty as Soto's words may sound to Bronx supporters, it was clear he was emotional in perhaps his final moments as a Yankee. After the World Series finale, Soto watched the Dodgers celebrate on the field he called home for seven months and then climbed to the top step of the dugout. He took a moment and then pointed to the sky.

Soto was the last player to leave the Yankees dugout.

“This will 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 as he was asked what was going through his mind at that moment in the dugout. Aside from admitting he had a lot of feelings, he kept the rest to himself.

“I think everyone in the room wants him back,” Aaron Judge said. “You can look at the stats and see what he did on the field. I think what type of leader he is in this clubhouse. He just does a lot of the little things that people don't notice that really 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 – watching his shots, watching his approach. The way he talked about certain pitchers and how they would attack him and what he was looking for. He's a scientist. “I'd definitely like to see him up there in pinstripes for a long time.”

Giancarlo Stanton had only three words for Soto on the precipice of free agency: “Stay with us.”

The owner of the Yankees team, Hal Steinbrenner, has to pay for this. 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 year with the fourth-best fWAR (8.1) in the major leagues. He hit a career-best 41 homers and posted a .989 OPS in 157 games. Soto said the team that signs him will be getting a guy who will play hard every day and be the best version of himself in the clubhouse and beyond, and urged potential suitors to ask any of his teammates how much he likes it Victory is important to you.

The judge hoped Soto enjoyed his time in the pinstripes, as 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 and the history,” Judge said. “What it really means to be a Yankee is that he fits into every single category. It's difficult to get into a new team. He spoke up often in this clubhouse and at meetings. It's little things like this that people don't see. But this.” The guy isn’t afraid. He wants to be in the spotlight. And if you're a Yankee, you're going to get into situations like that.

“I would like to have him back. But I'll 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's priorities be in free agency?

For the 26-year-old, playing for a winning team is of utmost importance. Even though his organization isn't the last team standing, he stressed 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 on other interested teams, especially considering he had a career year in the Bronx and helped lead the club to the Fall Classic, he didn't hesitate to throw ice cold water on the matter Game to bring this guess.

“I feel like every team has an equal opportunity when I leave in free agency,” Soto said. “I don’t want to say any team has an advantage.”

From now until Soto signs, everyone will be looking for signs of where he will spend the next part of his career. Since he's a client of Scott Boras, we already know that the super agent tends to wait for teams to give him their best, 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 the same process and outcome with his own free agency.

“It’s all about the teams, how far they want to go and how much they want to go back and forth,” Soto said. “I am here. They are the ones who have to come around. We'll wait for someone to come along. I can't control whether any team wants to call in February. So we'll see what happens.” You know where I stand.

Yankees fans have been vocal all year long that Soto should stay in pinstripes. Some showed up at the stadium with blank checks or dollar amounts filled in at $700 million or more. Asked if their gestures will have any impact on his decision this winter, Soto laughed before replying, “It will probably have an impact on the owner's decision.”

It's hard to imagine the Yankees heading to the World Series this year for the first time since 2009 without the legendary duo of Soto and Judge leading them there. All year, Soto seemed to be the final piece of the puzzle for a Yankees team that had been unable to overcome the crisis without him. They got to Game 5 of the Fall Classic against a Dodgers superteam that wanted to win the entire moment when they bet the house on Shohei Ohtani.

Will Soto be able to easily put everything he built with the Yankees this year behind him? Will the Yankees really let him? These two questions will accompany every step of what is surely one of the most extraordinary free agent signings in Major League Baseball history.

Stay tuned. This is just 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. Deesha, the daughter of Indian immigrants, grew up on Long Island and now lives in Queens. Follow her on Twitter at @DeeshaThosar.

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