World Series winner Buster Olney could have a major impact on Juan Soto’s winnings

Los Angeles Dodgers And New York Yankees open a potential World Series matchup for the ages on Friday night, and the winner could potentially make a big difference in the free agent market this offseason.

A World Series clash was always a strong possibility, with the Yankees finishing first in the American League and the Dodgers topping the regular-season majors.

Both teams made it to this stage thanks to their likely MVP winners. Shohei Ohtani for Los Angeles and Aaron Judge for the Yankees.

ESPN’s Buster Olney joined First Up on TSN 1050 Friday morning to discuss who he thinks has the edge in the matchup, how both teams can win and how the outcome of this World Series could impact the impending release of the Yankees superstar. Juan Soto.

“You have a historic matchup between the Dodgers and Yankees, you have Ohtani and Judge, two of the biggest stars in sports,” Olney said.

“I estimate that about 20 percent of the players in this World Series will end up in Cooperstown as Hall of Famers. There are so many stars here.”

The Yankees have starting pitching, the Dodgers have hitting, both teams have stars.

Ohtani and Judge have been the driving force behind their team’s success this season, and their presence will impact the outcome one way or another.

Ohtani went 50-50 for the first time this year, hitting 54 home runs and stealing 59 bases. Judge led the team in home runs (58), slugging percentage (144), on-base percentage (.458) and slugging percentage (.701).

Both players are favorites to win the MVP award in their respective leagues, making this the seventh time MVPs from each league have met in the World Series and the first time since 2012 Miguel Cabrera belonging Detroit Tigers played by Buster Posey San Francisco Giants.

Olney considers other factors in the match to decide who the winner will be.

“I picked the Yankees to win six games because of the pitching advantage, but I would say the Dodgers can easily overcome that advantage because their offense is so good,” Olney said.

“The Dodgers only have three healthy starters, and we don’t even know if the Dodgers have any.” Jack Flaherty healthy (Flaherty) was originally going to be traded to the Yankees at the trade deadline, but the Yankees pulled out of the deal due to concerns about his back.”

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts raised concerns about Flaherty’s slowing velocity in the playoffs at Thursday’s media day. The 28-year-old has allowed 12 earned runs in 15.1 postseason innings for the Dodgers.

“So the Dodgers have Flaherty, who could be compromised, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Walker Buehlerwho is not what he was in the past, but they have a deeper bullpen. I would say the Yankees have the pitching advantage,” Olney said.

On the other hand, the Dodgers offense allowed 46 runs at the plate in six NLCS games against New York Metsand their roster includes many All-Stars and former MVP winners.

“I talked to Mike Shildtcompany manager San Diego Padres that were destroyed by the Dodgers, and he said, “When you get a chance against the Dodgers, they just keep coming at you,” Olney said.

“On paper, the Yankees’ rotation could be an advantage, but they could also get these guys out of the game by the fourth inning. This could be a real holiday.”

How could a potential Yankees win play out? Juan SotoDeciding to become a free agent?

Last December, the Yankees made a massive deal to acquire Soto from the Padres, giving up major league-caliber players and valuable prospects to land the slugger whose contract expires at the end of the year.

Soto did everything he could to help the Yankees reach their first World Series appearance since 2009, as the 25-year-old hit 41 home runs, drove in 109 runs and scored an American League-best 128 runs of his own. If not for his brilliant teammate Judge, Soto would have been a strong candidate to be the Yankees’ best player.

A Yankees win over the Dodgers could actually push Soto away from re-signing with the team, Olney said.

“I will say this: If the Yankees win the World Series, I think it will certainly give their organization and owner Hal Steinbrenner some cover because their fan base, their standard is, ‘If you don’t win the World Series, You stink.” and they will win the World Series,” Olney said.

“Even though their fans might not necessarily be thrilled about it, I think getting this championship trophy, having this parade, allows Hal to say, ‘You know what, we got Juan Soto in one year, mission accomplished.”

Soto will likely choose between the Yankees or Mets as a free agent, with the comfort of the Yankees’ clubhouse being a pull factor against the possibility that Mets owner Steve Cohen is willing to make Soto an offer to whom the Yankees ” are not expected to comply.

“Going into the postseason, I felt like it would ultimately come down to a decision. Juan Soto “Does he want to take a smaller offer from the Yankees or does he want to take more money from the Mets, which could be significantly different,” Olney said.

“I think if the Yankees win the World Series, it will increase the likelihood of Soto leaving.”