Juan Soto is the biggest name of the 2024-2025 MLB season and his dance card is filling up accordingly. Each of the league’s biggest spenders is reportedly looking for a free-agent slugger who just completed another All-Star season in his lone year with the New York Yankees.
Soto is expected to compete for a contract worth somewhere between the stated value of Shohei Ohtani’s record-breaking deal ($700 million) and the actual value of the contract, adjusted for inflation and deferrals (somewhere around $440 million). It will be a gigantic piece of paper, the only question is what team name will be on it.
That’s why people are very interested in Soto’s schedule for this week. According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, four teams are scheduled to meet with Soto and mega-agent Scott Boras, though that likely doesn’t mean the other 26 teams are out of the running.
Let’s take a look at each of these four teams, what they bring to the table for Soto and how seriously we take them as candidates for his services.
Toronto blue jays
Serious meter: 3/5
Let’s rewind to about a year ago, when the Blue Jays seemed poised to land Ohtani. Countless MLB fans followed a flight tracker that supposedly contained the Japanese superstar as if it were the lunar module, and the whole thing ended up being a somewhat embarrassing lesson in scrutinizing reports in a high-stakes media environment.
Still, it was never disputed that the Jays were willing to pay Ohtani’s price. He liked what the Dodgers brought to the table more. And now Toronto gets a shot at a new superstar.
It’s easy to forget that the Blue Jays are a big-market team, but they are. They have money and plenty of reason to spend a lot of money now. The team took a step back this year after four straight competitive seasons and will look to win again in 2025, which will be a make-or-break year.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is a free agent after next season, and the best way to make this year count would be to add another elite bat. Soto is also a good friend of Guerrero, who the Jays want to keep as happy as possible.
New York Mets
Serious meter: 5/5
There’s a good chance the bidding war for Soto will come down to who is most willing to drop stupid money. The Mets would have the advantage there.
Mets owner Steve Cohen, the richest owner in baseball, has made it very clear that he is willing to ignore any rational business sense if it means his boyhood team becomes a World Series winner. That’s why the Mets have been loudly whispered as a potential Soto destination for years.
The Mets are still building power in the National League and adding the best young hitter in baseball while moving him away from their crosstown rival would go a long way. The fit here is so obvious it’s almost boring, at least until we see the final price tag.
New York Yankees
Serious meter 5/5
You can probably bet that the Yankees won’t make it easy for Soto to leave. Letting Soto walk would do notable damage to the team’s credibility going forward.
The trade for Soto last year went about as well as the Yankees could have hoped. He enjoyed another elite season at the plate, hitting .288/.419/.569 and ranking third in the MLB in OPS+, and seemed to be having fun with it. He was a key part of New York’s first appearance in the World Series since 2009.
Replacing Soto, even as a whole, would be remarkably difficult. Missing out on him would mean the Yankees would have to pursue several other premium free agents, such as Pete Alonso and Teoscar Hernández, to avoid a significant drop in the lineup.
When baseball’s premier franchise has the most to lose in a bidding war with free agents, it’s hard not to expect them to pull through. We saw this happen two years ago and the result was Aaron Judge’s nine-year, $360 million deal. This will undoubtedly be more expensive.
Boston RedSox
Serious meter: 3/5
This is pretty interesting for a team that hasn’t made the playoffs in three seasons.
The Red Sox still have plenty of talent, especially 2024 breakout star Jarren Duran and franchise stalwart Rafael Devers. They have an enviable collection of minor league talent on the way with four top 25 MLB Pipeline prospects. They have no shortage of financial resources as one of the most popular teams in the MLB.
And like the Mets, they could massively undercut the Yankees by signing just one guy. Signing Soto will likely require selling him in the next competitive era of the team ahead, but that argument seems simple.
It might also be worth noting that, in terms of park factor, Fenway Park is the equivalent of Coors Field for left-handed hitters like Soto.
So these are the four teams that have had reported Soto meetings. Let’s also take a quick look at the three other teams mentioned by the New York Post’s Jon Heyman as contenders for Soto, saying they could still schedule a meeting with him.
Los Angeles Dodgers
Serious meter: 3.5/5
Want to know what’s scary about the Dodgers? They can pay Soto.
It wouldn’t require much stretching. They are currently enjoying the financial rewards of winning a World Series, after a year of unprecedented sponsorship money from Japanese companies looking to tie themselves to Ohtani. Ohtani’s contract is perhaps the biggest bargain in baseball given his postponement, and that means the Dodgers can chase another big game if they want.
Despite feeling like a budding titan, the Dodgers didn’t have the largest payroll in the MLB last season. They finished third, behind the Mets and Yankees. This would be a really fun way to come first.
Yet Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman once said, “If you are always rational about every free agent, you will come in third with every free agent.” The Dodgers might be fine with being the rational one here, especially if it means raising the price for the Mets and Yankees.
San Francisco giants
Serious meter: 2/5
Like the Blue Jays with Ohtani, it’s helpful to remember that the Giants were very much there for Judge two years ago. This is a team that recently took full control of the highly lucrative Bay Area, with new leadership led by Buster Posey.
The Giants still lack a superstar to build their team around, and Soto would certainly fit that bill.
Tampa Bay Rays
Serious meter: 1/5
Even Heyman seemed surprised when one of MLB’s poorest teams was named as a Soto suitor, but let’s take a serious look at the Rays. Yes, the Rays are notoriously reluctant to spend money, but they reportedly offered 2024 World Series MVP Freddie Freeman more money than anyone else. They are also regularly competitive and just terminated Wander Franco’s $182 million contract.
Then again, come on. They might have been willing to pay Freeman around $25 million a year, but Soto could get that amount twice a year. This is also a team that is about to play an entire season in a minor league stadium after Hurricane Milton destroyed Tropicana Field, which won’t be an easy sell for Soto and won’t help the team’s finances.
