The Los Angeles Dodgers were in on the Juan Soto sweepstakes until the very end, which culminated with the New York Mets signing him record-breaking 15-year, $765 million contract.
Signing Shohei Ohtani to a 10-year, $700 million contract last offseason did not prevent the Dodgers from attempting to add another elite-level talent, even if it meant more massive salary on top of their payroll.
But even though the Dodgers have shown a willingness to spend more in free agency the last two years, they still took a measured approach and were not going to get caught up in the bidding war for Soto’s services.
The Dodgers were interested in Soto but never overly aggressive in their pursuit and seemingly drew a line during negotiations, according to Rob Bradford of FM 93.7 WEEI:
According to sources, Los Angeles’ offer was over $600 million but not into the $700 million threshold the other four clubs existed at.
The Dodgers will now have to pivot to re-signing Teoscar Hernández to fill the massive void in their outfield, but recent developments have created some uncertainty in their ability to bring him back.
Interest in Hernández from the Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays and Yankees has been amplified after they all missed out on Soto. Though, the Yankees splurged to sign Max Fried and might be more likely to trade for Cody Bellinger.
Meanwhile, it’s believed the Blue Jays might prefer signing Anthony Santander.
Hernández’s reported interest in playing at Fenway Park and for Red Sox manager Alex Cora could be problems for the Dodgers. In addition to not signing Soto, Boston also lost outfielder Tyler O’Neill to the Baltimore Orioles in free agency, and they were among the teams that heavily pursued Hernández last offseason.
Juan Soto sweepstakes helped Dodgers with Blake Snell
While the Dodgers ultimately lost out on Soto, his negotiation process with teams may have assisted them in signing Blake Sell by preventing theYankees from submitting an offer for the left-hander.
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