JUAN Soto is beginning his offseason process to find a team to sign with.
The New York Yankees slugger is exploring all options as he seeks a massive contract this winter.
Soto has already met with multiple teams this offseason, with more and more lining up to try impressing the star.
So far, the Toronto Blue Jays, New York Mets, Boston Red Sox, and Yankees have met with him.
The Los Angeles Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies are lined up to meet with Soto as well.
While contracts haven’t been discussed yet, it is expected that the Mets and Yankees will have the upper hand in negotiations.
The Yankees made it to the World Series this season with Soto as one of the main players, and they could pitch a return to that stage for years to come.
On the other hand, the Mets have the deepest pockets in baseball with owner Steve Cohen, and he could exceed any team’s offer by a huge amount.
According to Michael Kay, the play-by-play broadcaster for the Yankees, he feels that the Mets have the edge in the Soto sweepstakes.
“Here’s the thing that scares me,” Kay said on the Michael Kay Show.
“I would put it this way and this is not something that Yankees fans are going to want to hear.
“I don’t think the Yankees are going to go there. I don’t. Then I’ve heard from somebody in baseball today that Cohen’s willing to go $50 million over whatever anybody offers.
“So it looks like the Mets really want to get this guy. So, every report I’ve seen is that there have been no offers made but Baerga, who is usually locked into this stuff, said it’s $660 (million) for 15 years.”
Kay thinks that if Soto is going solely based on the money that he will sign with the Mets.
“This is just my gut feeling, and a couple people I talked to today, I don’t think he’s going to be denied in terms of overbidding for someone,” Kay said of Cohen.
“I would think if Juan Soto returns to the Yankees, then their gambit of making that trade for him — well it paid off in one way, it got them to the World Series, he certainly played a large role, and that maybe he did fall in love with the experience and wants to come back.
“But if what I believe, is that it’s going to come down to the most money, and I simply think that’s going to be the Mets, I really do.”
MLB All-Star starters 2024
American League
C: Adley Rutschman (Baltimore Orioles)
1B: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (Toronto Blue Jays)
2B: Marcus Semien (Texas Rangers)
3B: José Ramírez (Cleveland Guardians)
SS: Gunnar Henderson (Baltimore Orioles)
OF: Aaron Judge (New York Yankees)
OF: Steven Kwan (Cleveland Guardians)
OF: Juan Soto (New York Yankees)
DH: Yordan Alvarez (Houston Astros)
National League
C: William Contreras (Milwaukee Brewers)
1B: Bryce Harper (Philadelphia Phillies)
2B: Ketel Marte (Arizona Diamondbacks)
3B: Alec Bohm (Philadelphia Phillies)
SS: Trea Turner (Philadelphia Phillies)
OF: Jurickson Profar (San Diego Padres)
OF: Teoscar Hernández (Los Angeles Dodgers)
OF: Christian Yelich (Milwaukee Brewers)
DH: Shohei Ohtani (Los Angeles Dodgers)
There is an expectation that Soto could sign ahead of the upcoming winter meetings, which are being held from December 9-12.
Many of MLB‘s top free agents will sign during those meetings, but Soto and his agent Scott Boras seemingly want to accelerate that process.
While Kay has shared who he thinks is the favorite, there is no real indication of any preferences that Soto has.
Fans likely won’t have any clue of where Soto will sign until it is announced by his new team.
