2 simple reasons the Chicago White Sox will not pursue Juan Soto in free agency

Juan Soto is a big reason the Chicago White Sox lost to the New York Yankees yesterday. The Yankees slugger crushed two solo home runs.

Looks like all he needed to break out of his slump was to face Sox pitcher Brad Keller.

The 25-year-old superstar is having a great season just as he is set to be a free agent. He will be the undisputed best free agent available on the market. The Sox should be players in the free-agent market.

The Sox theoretically will have cash to burn in free agency next offseason. The Sox have just three players with guaranteed contracts next season. It could be two if Erick Fedde is traded before the deadline.

The Sox have five veterans with club or mutual options, but it is unlikely any of them will be exercised. Yoan Moncada's injury history is not worth $25 million next season. The same goes for Eloy Jimenez and his $16.5 million option.

Technically the Sox could enter the offseason with just $32.1 committed between Andrew Benintendi and Luis Robert Jr. Now that number will naturally go up as the Sox must pay their pre-arbitration and arbitration-eligible players. It is not going to be a massive amount of money.

So the Sox hypothetically could pursue a free agent like Soto who is entering his peak performance years. He already has a career .286/.421/.527 slash line with a career wRC+ of 155 and a career fWAR of 30.9. Just imagine the numbers he will put up over the next seven years of his career.

He would be the young superstar difference-making player the Sox Rebuild 2.0 could use. Much like the team imagined when they tried to land Manny Machado.

The failure to land Machado is an example of why the Sox will not be in the sweepstakes for Soto. The Sox claimed to have offered Machado the most money when he was a free agent in 2019, but the extra cash was tied to incentives. They did not even bother to seriously pursue Bryce Harper that year too even though he had interest.

Owner Jerry Reinsdorf will not pony up the cash to get Soto.

The Sox are one of two baseball clubs to have never signed a player to a contract over $100 million. That is the going rate on the market for a very good player. Soto is a superstar who has already rejected a contract extension well worth over $400 million.

Reinsdorf laughed at the idea of the Sox going after Shohei Ohtani last offseason. What makes you think he will change his mind when it comes to Soto?

Jerry has also expressed his disdain for contracts in the nine figures because he still likes to apply business principles even though you do not win the World Series by having the best balance sheet. It makes too much sense though for the Sox to want to add a box office draw. Especially, if Reinsdorf wants any public money toward his hope of building a new stadium. The problem is that Reinsdorf has never thought that way.

The other reason Soto will never be with the White Sox is it is very rare for the New York Yankees let a superstar go.

Soto has expressed his willingness to sign an extension with the Yankees. Even if he enters free agency, it is doubtful the Yankees will let him leave. The Yankees successfully retained Aaron Judge after he had one of the great seasons in baseball history. Why would Soto be any different?

The Yankees are an organization that understands to be competitive you have to acquire great players and pay the going rate to keep them. That is why they are the best team in the American League while the Sox are the worst.