Juan Soto has offers from 5 clubs as bidding begins for the best player: reports
Let the Juan Soto bidding war begin.
Five teams have offers on the table for the top player, according to multiple reports.
Those five teams are the New York Yankees, New York Mets, Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays.
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New York Yankees pitcher Juan Soto, #22, celebrates after hitting a solo home run in the third inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers during game two of the 2024 World Series at Dodger Stadium. (Photos by Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn)
Those contracts were made late last week, according to the report. The next step in the process will be negotiations between the teams and Soto’s agent, Scott Boras.
Soto, 26, is reportedly seeking a 15-year contract worth more than Shohei Ohtani’s $700 million deal. Ohtani’s deal is 10 years, and he has deferred most of his contract, while Soto apparently has no interest in deferring the money.
The four-time All Star is coming off the best season of his already impressive career, hitting .288 while hitting 41 home runs, finishing third in AL MVP voting while hitting ahead of MVP Aaron Judge.
During the Yankees’ run to the World Series, Soto was even better, hitting .327 with a .469 slugging percentage while hitting four home runs.
The Blue Jays tried to trade Soto last season but were unable to reach an agreement with the San Diego Padres. The Blue Jays also tried to sign Ohtani but failed in their efforts to add the star.
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New York Yankees pitcher Juan Soto, #22, celebrates with outfielder Aaron Judge, #99, after hitting a solo home run in the third inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers during game two of the 2024 World Series at Dodger Stadium. (Photos by Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn)
Some wonder if the Dodgers can afford to sign Soto after shelling out more than $1 billion in total cash on contracts last season, but with Ohtani opting out of most of his contract, they have enough money to at least make an offer.
The Red Sox met with Soto for three hours in California in hopes of luring the five-year Silver Slugger away from their bitter rival, according to MLB.com.
The Mets have the richest owner in sports in Steve Cohen and may need every penny they can muster to steer Soto out of the Bronx and to Queens, where he and star player Francisco Lindor will form a powerful duo at the top of the lineup.
Soto met with the Yankees last Monday, when the team sent owner Hal Steinbrenner, team president Randy Levine, general manager Brian Cashman, special assistant to the general manager Omar Minaya and manager Aaron Boone to California, according to NJ .com.
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New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone, #17, hugs outfielder Juan Soto, #22, during player introductions before the first game against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2024 World Series at Dodger Stadium. (Photos by Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn)
Soto posted a video on Instagram on Tuesday with the caption “The announcement you’ve been waiting for (eyes emoji),” teasing fans about his free agency, but instead announced a brand deal with Celsius.
“What, did you expect a different announcement?” Soto said with a smile at the end of the video.
Soto is expected to sign with the team during the MLB winter meetings, which will be held Dec. 9-12.
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