Multiple November reports indicated that the New York Yankees and New York Mets were the favorites to win the Juan Soto sweepstakes.
However, MLB insider Andy Martino of SNY suggested in an update shared on Monday that the Toronto Blue Jays have a real shot at preventing Soto from keeping the Big Apple his baseball home after he helped the Yankees complete a trip to this year’s World Series.
“It’s no secret that the Yanks and Mets are ‘all in’ on Soto, as one league source reiterates, and that there is a widespread belief among bidders that Toronto will come in with the highest offer,” Martino said. “There is also widespread skepticism that Soto would go to the Blue Jays — but a source pushed back on that, saying that if a team is involved in the final bidding, Soto is willing to play there.”
It was previously said that the Blue Jays could “make an astronomical offer” to Soto and agent Scott Boras, as Toronto is allegedly “highly motivated” to land the 26-year-old superstar. The Yankees, Mets, Blue Jays, Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers reportedly “presented contract offers to” Boras in November, and The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal revealed on Monday that “the Dodgers are doing what they often do with elite free agents, hanging around the backboard, seeing if the ball somehow falls into their hands” after they won the World Series.
While some have openly questioned if Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner will give Soto more guaranteed money than other would-be buyers, one report claimed that Mets owner Steve Cohen “is willing to go $50M over whatever anybody offers” for the All-Star outfielder. Soto is widely expected to reset the market for position players even if he gives a team a discount.
“There has been a widespread expectation that the bidding would pick up this week and resolve by or at the winter meetings [held from Dec. 9-12],” Martino added. “That expectation remains.”
It sounds like Soto will seriously consider playing home games in Canada through the remainder of his prime assuming Martino‘s information is accurate.
