The field of suitors for megastar free agent Juan Soto is said to have narrowed to eight finalists — including the Mets and Yankees, of course. But there’s one club in particular our two teams need to keep an eye on.
The six teams known to remain in the mix are big-market clubs that could swing what surely will be a record-setting deal, at least for total value. But the biggest threat to take Soto out of New York and away from the Mets and incumbent Yankees just might be the deep-pocketed Toronto Blue Jays.
The Jays are viewed by industry sources as a viable obstacle to the favored Yankees and Mets, thanks to a well-heeled ownership and strong incentive to improve coming off the abject disappointment of 2024. They’ve had difficulty luring superstars, presumably due to geography and finances (high taxes and the Canadian dollar complicate things). But word is they are highly motivated and sources suggest they plan to be in big.
The Dodgers, Giants and Red Sox and two other “mystery” teams (one believed to be from a smaller market) are believed to be planning to join the Jays, Mets and Yankees on trips to southern California to visit with the 26-year-old superstar starting this week.
The World Series champion Dodgers were reported here to be interested if Soto — a resident of Miami and his native Dominican Republic — has interest in returning west after a stint in San Diego. If that perceived geographic hurdle can be scaled, they have the wherewithal and much more to offer, starting with the best collection of talent in MLB, not to mention the favorite’s tag in the well-watched competition for star Japanese pitcher Roki Sasaki.
The Giants, who have tried hard to land superstars via free agency and trade (Bryce Harper, Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge to name a few), and Red Sox, who’ve slipped in the standings after recently sitting out big free agency, are also seen as legit Soto players. The exact dates for visits are a closely guarded secret, but the Yankees are believed scheduled for next Monday.
The Mets, with baseball’s richest owner, Steve Cohen, close to $100M in “dead money” coming off the books and a great resolve to continue their positive upswing following their surprise run to the NLCS, are obviously a major player among the elite eight. No one outside the Soto camp knows for sure, but Yankees people originally saw the Mets and Jays as their keenest competition.
At least Yankees general manager Brian Cashman and manager Aaron Boone will accompany club owner Hal Steinbrenner on their excursion to see Soto, who put together an MVP-caliber season with 41 home runs and a .989 OPS (though the award will surely go to Yankees teammate Judge). Soto is thought to have had an overall fine experience in pinstripes, giving the Yankees hope for the player who remains their top winter priority. However, there’s no indication if they may be given a “hometown” discount.
The Yankees signed Gerrit Cole and Judge to record deals, but they do sometimes draw lines, as they did with Japanese right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto before he went to the Dodgers for $325M plus a $50.6M posting fee and helped beat the Yankees in the World Series (the Yankees bid $300M). Soto didn’t veer from his script following the World Series defeat, saying “all 30 teams” would be considered.
He also spoke of preferring teams that win, but also ones that show “how much they want me,” which will be learned as negotiations advance in the next couple weeks. That’s a big reason why not only the well-heeled Mets but the similarly moneyed Jays are seen as serious contenders here.
One interested GM said he believes Soto will seek a record 15-year deal, presumably for more than the position-player record $40M salary of Judge (and perhaps the $43.3M Max Scherzer/Justin Verlander overall record, too) and suggested at least a record-tying 13 years will be offered.
Toronto was one of three teams along with the Giants and winning Dodgers known to accede to Shohei Ohtani’s $700M request, and are actually seen as among the ones who devised that heavily deferred arrangement that brought the value to $437.4M, possibly to deal with high Canadian tax (it obviously may also play in California).
The Jays along with the Giants tried to trade for Soto before the Yankees landed him at last year’s Winter Meetings in a five-for-two deal that netted the Padres Michael King, Drew Thorpe, Kyle Higashioka and two others.
Two teams among the final eight remain mysterious. The long-shot Rays checked in, but their likely priority is finding a temporary home because of the extensive damage to Tropicana Field caused by Hurricane Milton (the spring home of the Yankees at Legends Field in Tampa is a possibility, as are the spring sites of the Phillies in Clearwater and Jays in Dunedin). And the Rays probably need to secure a new permanent stadium deal to seriously consider an expenditure as large as Soto’s expected contract. At least one low-revenue team is believed still in this derby, but it isn’t necessarily Tampa Bay.
It will of course be a shock if anyone besides the known big-market suitors win this derby. But no one inside the game should be surprised if it’s the Jays who finally land the biggest fish.
