The Juan Soto sweepstakes appear to be heating up.
The most sought-after free agent this winter has naturally been linked to the top teams in Major League Baseball.
That said, the money attached to him could be in the $600-$700 million range, setting him up for a historic, lengthy contract.
Despite the recent massive contracts given out for the Los Angeles Dodgers, they won’t be counted out for the outfielder, either.
Los Angeles Dodgers
It was of the utmost importance the team signed a starting pitcher, so Blake Snell agreed to a five-year, $182 million deal on Saturday with the Dodgers.
Welcome to Los Angeles, Blake! pic.twitter.com/NTdJy5DMVp
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) November 30, 2024
Soon after, Los Angeles extended infielder Tommy Edman on a five-year, $74 million deal. While the Dodgers might not have a decade-plus-length deal in the cards for Soto, it doesn’t mean they’re completely out. The Dodgers are one of five teams that have reportedly made offers to Soto.
Imagine Soto in a lineup that already features bats such as Mookie Betts, Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman, Teoscar Hernández, and Max Muncy. Just a powerful lineup altogether. The World Series champions adding Soto would be unfair for the rest of MLB.
New York Mets
It’s going to be a race between the Mets and Boston Red Sox if you were to ask me, and I guess you kind of are, right? That’s why you’re reading this.
The deep pockets of Mets owner Steve Cohen run deeper in this case. He wants Soto.
“We’re gonna find out,” Cohen said, via SNY. “It’s either yes or no. There’s no in between and time will tell.”
“We’ll see what happens. We built a great team last year, I fully expect to do the same this year”
– Steve Cohen pic.twitter.com/u8xNK9S0LH
— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) November 25, 2024
Super agent Scott Boras is one to be patient, so there will likely be a lot of back and forth with multiple offers on the table for Soto.
New York Yankees
The other New York team that is always in on the top free agents in the Bronx met with Soto, who was very inquisitive about the organization. He spent 2024 with the Yankees and bolstered the lineup, while earning a fourth All-Star selection, a Silver Slugger Award, and finishing third in AL MVP voting.
Soto asked Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner about the farm system, as its perception has dropped. That’s doing your homework to see the long game, but Steinbrenner mentioned that Soto was more than likely doing that with all the clubs.
The Yankees are definitely all-in, however.
Boston Red Sox
The biggest rivalry in all of sports just happens to be in on the Soto war. The Red Sox are reportedly in on Soto, and NJ.com’s Randy Miller said the Yankees are pretty nervous about losing Soto to them.
“At the beginning, when I was hearing this from people that know Soto, I was skeptical on this, because I just figured the Red Sox don’t go all in on guys and I figured this was the Mets’ guy all along — and now I’m believing that this is gonna be either the Mets or Red Sox,” Miller told WFAN’s Rickie Ricardo. “I think the Blue Jays are all in and I don’t know that Soto will go there, but I think it’s gonna come down to the Red Sox and Mets.”
The Red Sox need offensive help and especially with right-handed hitters to even out a left-heavy lineup. They do have some solid internal help, but why do that, when you can outsource?
Craig Breslow, the Red Sox chief baseball officer, said one of the main priorities was a bat in the middle of the lineup. Whether that was pending free agent Tyler O’Neill or someone else.
The Toronto Blue Jays are also a team that met with Soto and reportedly gave him an offer, but they might end up being the bridesmaids at the end of the day.
The Winter Meetings are set for Dec. 9-12 in Dallas. Buckle up. Well, maybe — knowing Boras, we might have another spring training situation on our hands.
