All eyes remain on Juan Soto as it’s believed the New York Yankees free agent is nearing a decision heading into the annual MLB Winter Meetings.
By all accounts, Soto is down to deciding between five teams as finalists: incumbent Yankees, New York Mets, Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Dodgers. The Mets at multiple points have been identified as the favorite, largely due to a belief owner Steve Cohen is determined to not be outbid.
Adrian Mendoza, the son of manager Carlos Mendoza, is alleged to have stated the Mets offered a 15-year, $700 million contract to Soto.
While exact details of Soto contract offers from teams are unclear, Jon Heyman said on a Bleacher Report live stream the Dodgers are still involved in the sweepstakes but may be trailing:
“I think it’s in the ballpark for all those four teams. I think that is not a shocker. I think that’s where we are now. I think he’s going to set a record, unless by chance, at this point the Dodgers are probably the longshot in this. By chance he says, ‘You know what, I’m not so interested in the extra $30, $40, $50, $60 million. It’s not a big deal to me. I want to go to the best team.’
“So they’re still in it as far as I know. Obviously, he’s probably got a pecking order of the strengths and weaknesses, pros and cons, laid out in front of him. And he certainly knows which are the top two or three teams. But this is an unusual situation because normally you don’t have five teams fighting on really equal ground. At least four of them are on equal ground.”
Heyman additionally stated his understanding was the Dodgers’ contract offer to Soto was closer to $600 million whereas the Mets, Yankees, Red Sox and Blue Jays have each put $700 million deals on the table.
Scott Boras, Soto’s agent, said earlier this week that a decision had not been made nor was one “imminent.” Boras added Soto was sifting through information as he continued to evaluate teams. Boras made the remarks after the Dodgers’ introductory press conference for Blake Snell, another client of his.
Although the Dodgers have remained involved in the Soto negotiations, their more likely scenario is re-signing Teoscar Hernández.
Will Juan Soto’s contract break Shohei Ohtani’s record?
Shohei Ohtani set a North American sports record when he signed a 10-year, $700 million contract with the Dodgers last offseason. Because of the staggering $680 million in deferred salary, the present day value of Ohtani’s contract was estimated to be $460 million.
A growing expectation within the industry is Soto’s new contract is going to break Ohtani’s record, both in total and net present day values.
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