JUAN Soto appears close to making a final contract decision – and the bidding will clear $600 for the MLB superstar.
Soto, the winter‘s top free agent, has gotten major interest from his former team the New York Yankees, the crosstown rival Mets and even other foes including the Boston Red Sox.
On Tuesday, it was reported by The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal that the bidding for Soto has exceeded over $600 million.
Soto’s agent Scott Boras revealed on the same day at Dodger Stadium that Soto has begun eliminating potential landing spots, but didn’t share which teams.
ESPN’s Aiden Gonzalez reported that the 26-year-old outfielder is expected to sign before the conclusion of the Winter Meetings, which begin in Dallas on Sunday, December 8, and end on Thursday, December 12.
Recent history suggests Soto will sign his deal sooner rather than later.
Both Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani, the two top free agents in each of the last two offseasons, inked their deals within the first 10 days of Decembers.
Soto’s deal is expected to be for at least 12 years and its current value could beat the record the two-way Ohtani set with the Los Angeles Dodgers last year when he penned a heavily deferred 10-year, $700 million contract.
This winter, the Yankees, Mets, Red Sox, Blue Jays, and Dodgers have been linked to Soto.
The latter two teams seem more unlikely than the rest.
While the Blue Jays’ contract offer will reportedly be the biggest, the club has recently struggled to land free agents and, due to taxes in Canada, Toronto has to offer more money.
And the reigning champion Dodgers, who recently signed two-time Cy Young pitcher Blake Snell to a lucrative five-year contract, as well as the Blue Jays are considered “long shots” to land Soto, per The Athletic.
That leaves the Yankees, Mets, and Red Sox as the likelier teams to sign Soto.
The Athletic listed the Mets “as the favorite” to ink a deal with Soto, while the Red Sox are called a “surprising force in the negotiations.”
The same reported added how “desperately” the Yankees want to keep him in pinstripes alongside Judge.
Soto put together a career-campaign in his first season in the Bronx, batting .288 along with 41 homers and 109 RBI.
He finished third in the AL MVP voting behind Kansas City Royals‘ Bobby Witt Jr. and Judge.
Soto and Judge led the Yankees to the World Series in which they lost in five games to the Dodgers.
At the age of 26, Soto’s next contract would be justifiable due to the amount of seasons he has left.
Soto has a World Series, batting title, five Silver Sluggers and four All-Star appearances on his resume.
He has a career .953 OPS and 160 OPS+ which means he’s 60 percent better than the league average player.