He may end up being the best hitter of this century. Finally a free agent, Juan Soto is in a very unique position. If he doesn’t end up back with the Yankees, Padres or Nationals, he’ll play for a fourth different team before his 27th birthday next October.
After a season with the Yankees proved a large market was not going to change him in any way, the outfielder is primed for one of the largest paydays ever. He will certainly approach Shohei Ohtani’s neighborhood, in earnings if not proximity.
Soto’s visit to the world series was his second. He need not worry that his next stop will leave him without a ring after doing so in Washington in 2019. His playoffs have been as good as his regular seasons. And his 2024 was his best.
Soto posted a career best 7.9 WAR, besting his 7.1 from 2021, a season that had him passing the 40 homer mark for the first time. His OPS+ of 178, second only to his outragious 217 of 2020, leaves him at 160 for his career. Behind only Aaron Judge and Mike Trout among active players.
Yankees, Dodgers and Mets?
The line is starting to form at his door. Surely the Yankees want and need him back. The team finally making it back to the world series after a fifteen year hiatus. That 2009 Yankees title, their baseball leading twenty-eighth is also their only one since 2000.
The Dodgers are making room. They announced this week that Mookie Betts will move back to the infield, either second base or shortstop to create an opening in the outfield. The Dodgers clearly unafraid to spend and knowing that path is helped if others don’t have Soto.
The Mets are the third team in baseball’s three hundred million payroll club. Having reached the championship series this year they feel a breath from a championship. According to MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand, executives think it’s a New York, New York thing.
Soto in no rush
Word has the Blue Jays putting together a massive offer. The thinking is twelve to fourteen years and between 600 and 700 Million. Some believe Mets owner Steve Cohen will pay whatever it takes. For what it’s worth, Soto spent Wednesday playing video games with Jays star Vladimir Guerrero Junior.
The Tampa Bay Rays? Seriously? Why not according to Jon Heyman in the New York post. Reports suggest that the San Francisco Giants and Boston Red Sox have also been in touch. Soto’s agent said Wednesday that his star client is in no rush:
“Due to the volume of interest and Juan’s desire to hear [from teams], I can’t put a time frame on it, but it’s going to be a very thorough process for him,” Boras told ESPN. “He wants to meet people personally. He wants to talk with them. He wants to hear from them.”
A delayed market for Soto will ceratinly slow down the entire free agent process as teams need to know how much they’ll have left after this humongous payout. Let the bidding begin.
