The way the media reports Juan Soto’s free agency, one would think he was a big-time international free agent and not an MLB veteran.
Multiple sources have reported Soto meeting with as many as eight teams, with five finalists making offers: the Yankees, Mets, Red Sox, Dodgers, and Blue Jays. Each has the means to sign Soto to a near-record contract after making their initial offers this week.
Soto, meanwhile, is playing with house money. He’s only just turned 26 and was an MVP finalist in his first season with the Yankees. Soto hit .288 with a career-high 41 home runs and 99 RBI in 2024, and then hit .327 with four home runs in the playoffs. It was Soto’s extra-innings home run in Game 5 of the ALCS that ultimately clinched the AL Pennant.
Needless to say, the man is about to get paid.
But let’s be real. How many serious suitors does Juan Soto actually have? His stats and age alone don’t automatically mean he’ll surpass Shohei Ohtani’s $700 million deal, but he’ll come close. That would still be a record for a position player, even with the inevitable deferred money.
In that case, we can probably eliminate Los Angeles from the mix. Their outfield is fairly set and while they could use someone like Soto, the defending World Series champion Dodgers don’t need him. Plus, they’re already having to get more creative with their accounting; Blake Snell just signed a five-year, $182 million deal with LA, but $52 million of it is a signing bonus, and then add deferrals.
In turn, that eliminates the Red Sox. They were in on Snell and got outbid by the Dodgers, and yet they’re “stepping up their efforts” to get Soto, as Jon Heyman reported in the Post? Not buying it, which means we can also eliminate Toronto. The Blue Jays have bigger holes to fill and probably just checked in with a short-term deal with a higher annual salary.
That leaves us with two teams: the Yankees and Mets. The two teams in the biggest market and with the richest owners. It’s no secret that both want Juan Soto badly and could be willing to break the bank to sign him. So who has the advantage?
First things first, the final price tag is meaningless on deferred money alone. Soto will have no choice on that front just from the overall value of his contract. The Yankees are too familiar with big contracts clogging, crippling payroll year after year. Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira weren’t as long ago as people realize.
Similarly, as much as the Mets want Juan Soto, they aren’t made of money either. Francisco Lindor has seven years and over $238 million left on his deal. The Mets also need to decide if they’re bringing back slugging first baseman Pete Alonso.
More importantly, however, the New York Mets are desperate for pitching. Sean Manaea and Luis Severino both declined their qualifying offers and hit the market. That leaves Kodai Senga as the only reliable starter in the rotation, and a bum shoulder limited him to four total appearances in 2024.
It doesn’t matter that the Mets can easily pencil in Juan Soto in right field or at DH. Team president David Stearns must stress to owner Steve Cohen that no matter how deep his pockets are, there are bigger priorities beyond Soto.
What if that money went towards someone like Corbin Burnes, who won a Cy Young with Stearns in Milwaukee? What about poaching lefty Max Fried from NL East rival Atlanta? Even making a play for Nathan Eovaldi or Jack Flaherty is a good idea.
That leaves the New York Yankees as the last team standing, but far from guaranteed to win the Soto sweepstakes. More meetings are on the way and we can’t ever rule out the infamous “mystery team” showing up out of nowhere (Looking at you, Cliff Lee and Philadelphia Phillies post-2010).
All anyone outside of Soto’s immediate circle can do is hurry up and wait.
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