Bob Nightengale of USA Today offered a few updates on the Juan Soto sweepstakes. In his most recent article, Nightengale clarified the interest of a few teams, who the true suitors for Soto are, and what the dynamics at play might produce.
According to him, only four teams “are seriously in play for Soto: The Mets, the Yankees, the Toronto Blue Jays, and the Boston Red Sox.“ This would mean that rumored destinations such as the Phillies and Dodgers are no longer in play for Soto or that their initial intentions were misinterpreted.
For the New York Mets, Nightengale goes as far as to call them “the clear-cut favorite” and states executives believe this“simply because they don’t believe there’s a soul who will outbid owner Steve Cohen.” Soto has long been rumored to go to whichever team offers the highest dollar to the slugger.
On the other side of town, a different picture is painted of the reigning American League champion Yankees. Nightengale says the Bronx Bombers “have a price in mind that they don’t want to exceed.” Notably, this would fall in line with what the Yankees did just last winter with the Yoshinobu Yamamoto free agency, where reportedly they offered the highest average annual value but had a number and year total in mind that they did not want to go past due in part to the contract of Gerrit Cole.
He offers that the Dodgers would have been foolish not to take a meeting with Soto in their hometown of Los Angeles and that a meeting seemed mutually beneficial for both sides. It allows Boras to drive up the ask on Soto, and the Dodgers can put “a little pressure on outfielder Teoscar Hernández into re-signing with them.”
As for the Phillies, they reportedly have not reached out to Boras on the topic of Soto once, which, given the stage of the Soto Sweepstakes, could signal a lack of true interest in the star outfielder.
For the second year in a row, the Toronto Blue Jays have found themselves in the mix for a generational talent but again seem to be serious underdogs. Nightengale argues that Toronto “could be the sleeper, but with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette eligible for free agency in a year, Toronto would have to “dramatically beat the Mets’ offer to have a prayer.” This would cement the idea that Soto wants to join a franchise that will win next year and in the final years of his deal, which could be an issue for a Vladdy-less Jays.
Finally, the Red Sox appear to be the loudest of any free agent bidder. “This is why they met with Soto,” says Nightengale, and, “told everyone how well it went, and informed agents that they not only want to sign one of the marquee free-agent pitchers in Corbin Burnes, Max Fried and Blake Snell but want to sign two.” How hell-bent they are on signing Soto remains to be seen, but it is clear that Boston plans to be a player in the high-end market with multiple players this winter.
Photo Credit: David Dermer-Imagn Images
The sum of the updates from Nightengale seems to present a very favorable situation for the Mets: a lack of Phillie and Dodger involvement, self-imposed restrictions by the Yankees, multiple factors working against the Blue Jays, and the Red Sox potentially being more involved in other markets. Soto has long been the apple of Steve Cohen’s eye, and it is hard to envision a world where he does not do whatever he needs to land Soto, let alone get outbid by another team. If the Mets are truly the “clear-cut favorite” for Soto, Mets fans could have a lot to be thankful for this week.
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