The Los Angeles Dodgers have again been one of the more active teams in free agency, which included making an effort to sign Juan Soto.
However, Soto signed on with the New York Mets after meeting with a group of teams.
Soto’s 15-year, $765 million contract with the Mets is the largest deal in MLB history. Soto’s deal includes a full no-trade clause and $75 million signing bonus. Perhaps most notably, it does not include deferred salary.
The present day value vastly eclipses that of Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani’s contract he signed just a year ago. But the Dodgers made an effort, with their rumored contract figures reaching the $600 million range.
During one of the Dodgers’ meetings with Soto and agent Scott Boras, manager Dave Roberts shared insight on how he would put together the lineup with another superstar added, per Buster Olney and Jeff Passan of ESPN:
In the sit-down with the Dodgers — a meeting which included president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman, GM Brandon Gomes and manager Dave Roberts, who had cut a vacation in Europe short to return for the occasion — Roberts was asked how he would structure the top of his lineup with Soto.
He answered: Ohtani would lead off, then Soto hitting second, Mookie Betts third, Freddie Freeman fourth. In an effort to give Soto some insight into how Roberts thinks, Boras asked the Dodgers manager to identify a moment in which he felt the World Series slipping away — and Roberts explained that when the Yankees took a 5-0 lead in Game 5, he had called on hard-throwing reliever Michael Kopech to pitch the fourth inning, because Roberts wanted somebody to dominate the Yankees’ hitters, to reverse the shifting momentum.
Roberts detailing a potential lineup that included Soto sounds incredible on paper and one with historic potential. A quartet of Ohtani, Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts and Soto, would have been arguably the best four ever assembled.
The Dodgers still have a need for an outfielder, and signing Soto would’ve done more than fit the bill. But given the current financial status, their $600 million offer as it was rumored, fell far short of what Soto ultimately signed for.
Dave Roberts wants Dodgers to re-sign Teoscar Hernández
While the Dodgers fell short of signing Soto, there’s a clear pivot to address their outfield in bringing back Teoscar Hernández.
That’s an outcome Roberts made clear he hopes comes to fruition amid mutual interest between the Dodgers and Hernández.
“It would be tough,” Roberts said of the team potentially having to replace Hernández. “Obviously I’m a huge fan of Teo. We have a great relationship. His words, he loved everything about being a Dodger, and I’m always going to be a Teo fan.
“There’s not a whole lot of guys that can start 157, 158 ballgames and post and then to be that productive. Then you layer on being in a big market, helping us win a championship. So those players don’t come around very often.
“But obviously Teo has put himself in a very good position as a free agent and had a very productive year. So he’s got some decisions to make as well. He’s going to kind of suss those out. It would be hard for me not to see him coming back.”
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