As the Juan Soto decision nears, the expected contract seemingly continues to climb. Jon Heyman of the New York Post writes that the price could push to $700MM. Heyman suggests that the Mets, Yankees, Red Sox and Blue Jays may all be near that mark. The Dodgers are also a finalist, but various reports have put them as the least likely of the quintet to land him.
On Tuesday, The Athletic reported that multiple teams had made offers at or above $600MM. Agent Scott Boras said at the time that Soto had begun to narrow the field, though he didn’t specify a timetable for his decision. Most reports indicate he’s likely to sign by the end of next week’s Winter Meetings, perhaps as soon as this weekend.
According to Heyman, teams have continued to adjust their offers in recent days. Alex Speier of the Boston Globe reported last night that the Red Sox were hoping for a final meeting with Soto’s camp to get the outfielder to name the specific price at which he’d put pen to paper. It’s not clear if Soto would grant any team that sit-down.
Shohei Ohtani’s deal was initially reported as a 10-year, $700MM contract. The extreme nature of the deferrals in the Ohtani deal, which were reported a few days after he announced he was signing with the Dodgers, dramatically reduced the net present value. MLB valued the contract around $461MM for luxury tax purposes. That’s still an all-time record. Soto was unquestionably going to beat $461MM and widely expected to go well beyond $500MM. (MLBTR predicted a 13-year, $600MM contract at the beginning of the offseason.) Getting to $700MM without deferrals would shatter prior contractual precedents.
Ohtani’s $46.06MM annual salary — again adjusting for deferrals — is the record for average annual value. Bryce Harper’s 13-year contract is the longest free agent deal in history. Soto would likely need to break both records to get to $700MM — potentially on a 14-year deal at $50MM annually. It shouldn’t be much longer before we learn if the market will go to those heights.
Seems like it. Pretty safe rumor to make up
Yeah, I will be stunned if it doesn’t reach $700M
If I was offering $700 million, he’d have ten seconds to decide.
What if he decided to accept your offer?
A. LOT. Of deferrals and let the next generation deal with it.
It’d be a really quick count:
12345and5is10thanksforplaying,Juan!
I don’t think there is going to be much deffered. Boras stated the goal is to break the aav barrier, so 700 heavily deffered doesn’t accomplish that.
On top of that, if its a 14-15 year deal, how long is Soto willing to wait for his money? Last payout in 2055? I don’t see it
You’d give him that long?
Deferrals have been explained like many times in these threads in the last week.
It’s not like teams just skip paying until later when they are all dead and gone.
Read up. You may learn something.
I understand how deferred deals usually work, and the consequences, don’t assume that someone is ignorant because they have a different opinion.
I will bet you whatever you want, that if the deal comes in below 800, there will be less than 100 million dollars deferred.
A ton of big deals have had some deferred money, but given that the initial comment was about the Dodgers fundamentally changing player contracts, I’d say it’s safe to assume they meant something upwards of 25% of the final total
He’s just using “alternative facts.”
Good point
That’s totally Ridiculous!!
Unless you are Soto!!!
Check out the other Top Free Agent Players!!
A smart President of Baseball Operations could get at least 2, maybe 3 of the top Free Agents for a grand total on their combined salaries of $700 million.
Why put all of your eggs in one basket with Soto???
At $700 million ….. At least with Othani the Dodgers are getting 2 players in one —— A pitcher and a hitter.
Any team that pays him anywhere near this is going to heavily regret it. Could go down as the worse signing in sports history. Even the algorithms will tell you that.
About to ruin the game.
A bad contract needs to ruin the game. It will teach owners to stop throwing money around and buy super teams. The game thrives when there is parity. When the outcome is seemingly one-sided, what’s the point in watching?
So the things I’m hearing that are being floated….
It is down to 5 teams, with one still being a long shot.
The offers are all over 10 years for the contract, with the bar set at 15 years.
The offers are already over $600M, with $700M being the new mark.
It’s going to come down to how many, and what types of opt out clauses the contract will have, It sounds like Soto has the region where he wants to play (Northeast), duration and price, so now it’s coming down to who’s willing to sweeten the pot for him.
And I know it’s obvious, but the five teams are Mets, Yankees, Jays, Red Sox, and Phillies, with Phillies being the long shot do to them having to move contracts that are kind of unmovable.
xX: The Phillies were never serious bidders. The Dodgers had a limit as to what they would spend on Soto which has apparently been surpassed. imo, the Jays won’t get him. While I’d like to see Soto on the Red Sox, I still think the Mets will sign him because Cohen is printing more money right now.
That’s why I said the Phillies were a long shot. They have too many things that had to go their way, and they didn’t, but they did try.
As far as the Jays go, I heard they did give a competitive offer.
And I agree, it’s probably the Mets, because Cohen will match what Soto is asking for if not exceed it just to say he got his guy.
“The other factor is that Soto doesn’t appear to have geographic preferences affecting his market, as seems to have been the case with Ohtani, whose other top choice besides the Dodgers was the incumbent Angels. Soto already has played for three teams, with only one year in The Bronx, albeit a generally happy and productive one with him posting a .989 OPS and the Yankees reaching the World Series for the first time in 15 years. Despite old rumors he prefers the East Coast, friends say he very much enjoyed San Diego, as well.”
Reading the article linked really helps.
And where are the Rays in this process??????
Tampa
Literally, Tampa this year
Bro we can read the damn article.
I heard Boston already offered 15 years @ 675 million per the sporting news
Ray – Yep it’s sickening how reporters distort the truth with carefully worded articles meant to deceive.
Did he write anything definitive in the linked article? Nope!
“EXPECTED to hit baseball’s magic $700 million mark”
“THOUGHT to be at least in range of that record MLB figure”
“BELIEVED behind in the bidding”
“ISN’T BELIEVED any team has separated itself financially”
Hey Jon, I EXPECTED you to report actual facts and I THOUGHT there would be real news in your article. I BELIEVED you’d have concrete information from Boras, but instead you wrote nothing but speculation which ISN’T BELIEVED.
In other words, no real news here.
John doing his level best to get Boras more money.
Clip – Yup, and on the 2-year anniversary of Jon’s infamous Arson Judge tweet.
he’s on his payroll skipper
It’s almost like he’s just reporting trade rumors
Expecting reporters to report facts (on a rumors site) is not that different from expecting the comments section to be filled with well-informed, thoughtful insights.
You know this is a RUMORS site..right?
If he signs for less than $600 million, we know which reporters are hacks for Boras.
My guess is that if he gets $600 million, it involves some deferred money.
But at least Soto is a freak athlete, an elite defender, and has 70 speed on the base-paths.
Oh, he’s none of those?
@mlb
What kind of athlete do you think Babe Ruth was? How elite of a speedster do you think Ted Williams was? How great of a glove do you think Manny Ramirez was? My guess they were all very average of not sub-par. But we do know that they were all amazing hitters in their time. Dude is a generational hitter. I don’t think the Yanks make it to the WS without him. He’s won a WS ring already and he had a great post-season. In the words of Moscow, “Pay that man his money.”
14/$700 opt out in 5 years.
What makes him a “generational hitter”? That’s just a silly cliche. The hype on Soto is overwhelming—and beautifully maneuvered by his camp to capitalize on the hysteria surrounding his free agency.
Whoever signs this guy will get a little value before he tanks, is oft injured, and is compared to Giancarlo “Disabled List” Stanton. We’ll see who throws 700 million down a rat hole.
Well if you are gonna make up an arbitrary future why not just go drink margaritas on the beach until doomsday
The team that signs him soon will regret it
What if they wait till next week?
Can you imagine the dodgers sign this guy…
Yes
Someone laced Reinsdorf’s cigar with hashish. He’s bidding $800 million.
I wish!
Bucket Number Six: No, that’s what his franchise is worth. Wait. On second thought, that’s much too high a number for his train wreck of a disorganization.
Ya mean Reinsdorf got his hands on Michael Jordan’s cigars? Lol Jordan I think still holds the record for highest minor league contract ever at 25 million a year….his NBA salary
Have to be more deferred for MLB’s fav pets
If the Dodgers sign him, his great grandchildren will end up being the beneficiary at the back end of the contract.
Nope!
Pass on that all day long
U did already. Guess the homeless arent buying enough tickets lol
well somone is buying tickets because they’re third in the league in attendance
So? If I was homeless, I think San Diego might be the best possible place to live. I’d go there if I ever became homeless.
Lol. And well you should, youll fit right in and dont have to worry about where to go to the bathroom
@hiflew sleep on the beach every night hell yeah
Thats the american spirit of hard work! Good times make what?
Lolol you’re hilarious!!!!! Bet you live in Shhtsville USA that nobody would ever want to visit let alone live in, even homeless people.
you’re a real POS, what the hell is wrong with you?
…
No he is just a troll that this site refuses to do anything about.
Your mother must be so proud.
@raymond – I’d rather live in a town with a homeless population than one with you in it.
It breaks my heart the city of San Diego is in position to be a credible butt to that joke. I moved before things reportedly got bad. But I spent many a summer going to Comic-Con. To experience what is reportedly down there now would be too much to bear. I hope it can turn around somehow.
I hope all cities with that problem do. Problem is failed policies and inflation and resource depletion probably wont allow it
Moved to SoCal from Ohio and its 1000X better than that dump. All the repubs keep talking about how bad it is here, the “exodus” blah blah. Every year it just gets busier and tourism keeps increasing. And guess what, i only see homeless people on rare occasions i go downtown.
Keep watching fox entertainment. If you break down poverty, obesity, education level, average income etc. It’s very clear red states are at the bottom of all of these. Just because homeless people come here due to nice weather doesn’t mean it’s failed policy. I’m sure you’d have us put them all to death or truck them out of state like Texas does.
Lmao. Wow you should probably go brush your teeth or are you used to the taste of manure? Love it, according to you I watch fox because youre knee deep in humanure. So deep it seems to be coming out your mouth now
Hm wonder why its busier lmao. I love that yll think its political to have homeless all over the streets. I said it because ive seen it. The west coast is littered with it. Enjoy it, just take the shoes off when u get to your 800k cubicle
Raymond
I know nothing about you, but you write like a spoiled 20-ish dude who lives in his Mommy’s basement. (“Ma, more meatloaf!”)
Fascinating!
I just got back from Tampa finishing an RFP there and I can tell you that the homeless problem is much worse there than here in OC. Not sure how bad San Diego is, but I know all of southern California has a lot of homeless because of our perfect weather.. You never have to worry about freezing to death in Anaheim if you are homeless.
Of course they are .
What’s fascinating is a person like you has lived to be 14.
LOL
Salty he didn’t like San Diego, huh?
Best comment here.
Try $750 million
I have a feeling this winter meeting is going to be a good one. Teams have already worked themselves into a lather.
Desperate times call for desperate measures.
Soto is not worth no where near 700m
In what sense? I highly doubt you know what that means
But you do? Great hitter but average to below average in the other skillsets.
The other skill sets get you injured and the game is won by hitting. This isnt rocket science. You can pretty much check every single HoF plaque for a hitter, hitting was their talent.
Carrillo – True he’s not worth it in today’s market, but remember in 2035-2039 the average salary for a really good hitter will probably be well over $60M annually.
Consider this, it was just 2014 when Stanton signed his record-breaking $325M contract with an AAV of $25M.
Just 9 years later Ohtani signed his $46M AAV contract, nearly double Stanton’s contract.
So 10 years from now $50M AAV won’t seem so big compared to others, the dramatic escalation of salaries will continue.
Agreed. That coupled with revenue from memorabilia sold by the team, Advertising and ticket sales etc. then it really isn’t going to be as big of a drain on a teams pocket book.
FPG: Inflated salaries was also a problem in the 1970s when George Steinbrenner bought himself three WS in a row behind players like Reggie Jackson. The owners got together and agreed to curb their high spending. But George ignored them and started spending again, and the other owners followed suit. They got together again, I believe in the 1980s or 1990s, but this time they were found guilty of collusion. One of the players to benefit from that was Carlton Fisk, who picked up a nice fat settlement from the owners.
A 26 year-old, future unanimous first ballot Hall of Famer isn’t worth it?
I guess the troll myth is treating his skill level at about jason werths and his age as fiction. I guess if it gives them joy to think the man with 20 billion is about to be fleeced by a 45 year old dominican…
Soto’s 7.9 WAR is worth $72 million in the free agent market using last year’s numbers. This year free agent salaries for the top players and even a few of the lower end guys are skyrocketing. Severino got $21 million. Snell got $36.4 million.
If Soto gets 15/700 or $46.7 million AAV he will be worth more than that at 6-7 WAR. At the end of the deal he will not be getting that high of WAR, but since his value is not based on defense he probably will for the next 9-10 years. By then mid-market guys like Santander and Walker will be getting $32 milloin AAV and top of the market guys $60 million AAV so he will not seen all that expensive.
Just 5 years ago the deals that Harper and Machado got at age 26 were considered crazy by some fans, but they have proven to be great deals for their teams.
@outinleftfield
Let’s use Machado as a gauge. Same age as Soto, essentially the same career WAR. Add the that, 10x the fielder Soto is. Should he get double the contract in just 6 years???? Personally I think its obscene……
You dont get to use WAR as proof theyre the same then say WAR is off by 10x when WAR includes defense
J. Carillo…..Ya worth what the market says, it’s an auction and if reports are true that Boston has already offered 15 years and 675 million then Soto is indeed worth 700 million to someone. Cohen has already said he will top any offer by 50 million and that’s why Boston wants this sign this blank check meeting…..
$500 million is what I stand by on. Anything above that is ridiculous. What’s going to be next $1 billion for one player? You can build a whole team and then some. There needs to be a salary cap because the cost of premium is not going down. This just shows every team needs to develop younger talent and make cost effective moves instead of paying these outrageous salaries.
Yes thats what inflation is. What dont people get about 30% inflation over the last 5 years
@tiger I’d assume this means all his offers have included deferrals. I have trouble seeing him get even $600M in present day value.
Unfortunately if his contract has even half the deferred $ Ohtani’s had we re in for a ton more crying by the financially illiterates out there….
Tigers3232: Soto wants the highest AAV in history so I doubt there will be any deferrals.
I think you are right, just a deal 5 years longer than Ohtani’s and about the same $46 million AAV.
@avenger Do you have any link that’s quoting Soto saying he’s looking to have highest AAV? I’m not asking in a condescending way. All I ve read is speculation of what specifically he wants other than the obvious, a ton of $.
That said even if Soto has stated publicly his goal is to have highest AAV deal, that doesn’t mean it’s going to be offered. In order to get highest AAV he’d likely average to sacrifice length of contract.
Look at Ohtani’s deal, to get largest MLB contract ever he had to defer a ton of it. His deal ultimately is not worth much more than Judge’s in value. If Judge invests bulk of his earnings he very well could end up earning more of salary from playing time and $ it accrued.
@avenger Ohtani did not even break the projected $500M in present day value. $44M has to b invested accrued and collected later to do so.
It just seems highly unlikely Soto exceeds $500M present day value without deferrals.
Ohtani didn’t have to. He offered to defer it. That would have been true anywhere he signed.
@stymee I’m well aware that Ohtani sought the deferred $. That is not relevant to what I was saying. How the deferrals affected the total #s of his contract is what I was pointing out.
@Tigers3232 According to Sporting News Boston has already offered 15 years and 675 million. If the reporting is true he will be over 700 million when the dust settles. Soto is worth that in Fenway with his swing. I can tell ya that…
@king On that report did I mention how much if any of that 675 is deferred?
@Tigers3232 No, they did not. Red Sox do have a history of defferals, I believe Manny is still on the payroll.
The owners’ profits are so obscene, that’s why they can afford to pay the players.
Thats how business works
LA please stay away, Resign Teo & secure Roki
Yes, yes and YES!
We’re still 5+ weeks from his posting but the Roki-Sweepstakes are really heating up! Good luck gents
Why not spread that money on three other top FAs
Well if youre the mets (yankees sox dodger etc) because u can spend other money on those 2
@james
The Yanks need to spend on others regardless of what happens with Soto. They can’t afford to sign Soto and then not sufficiently address the other needs. That’s not an improvement on the team that just lost the WS in humiliating fashion. That’s being a lesser team. I just don’t think we need to hand out multiple $150 mil long term deals. If they sign Soto they can still go after short-term guys like Bellinger, Santana or Walker @ 1b, Brohm or Arenado at 3b and splurge on Fried and sign 2 or 3 bullpen guys like Robertson, Kirby, Hoffman, etc. I think they’ll take a 1 to 2 year hit paying the highest penalty. In the meantime the farm can feed them some near ready talent in Rice and Durbin. A lot of money will fall off the books after 2026 and Yanks can plan to reset yet remain competitive. But Yanks need to make the most out of Judges prime years. He’ll be 35 in 3 years.
Carlos baerga said mets current offer is 15yrs 700mil
Sounds similar to Boston’s 15 year 675 million and why they want this meeting. They probably heard about that Mets offer
If its true that redsox blue jays yanks mets dodgers all offered close to 700, thats just mindblowing that so many are willing to offer record breaking $$
Altho steve cohen promised to outbid anyone by 50 million. This is just wild
Well if Boston gets granted this meeting, it’s supposed to be a blank check meeting. Boston is going to ask what will it take to sign right now, Cohen won’t be given a chance to counter.
Boras doesnt do blank check meetings lol
He always gives tms chances to counter
Thats why its taken so long to sign soto. Endless counter offers
That’s his usual style you are right. However it didn’t do Snell or Montgomery any good last off-season. Both struggled through the season due to the change in preparation the lack of spring training did. I don’t think Soto wants to drag this out for that reason.
Wonder where in the starting rotation Soto fits for the Red Sox? That’s where they need to spend the money.
Albatross.
For that price he’d better be better than the the best player who ever played the game every season of his contract. The team that signs him deserves what it gets.
25 year old with a clear HOF trajectory bat. Not sure what player you all think you are talking about. Still dnt see anyone who understands inflation either
28 at least.
you don’t understand inflation, I bet you don’t understand how tariffs work
Why do you say such nonsense? Youre laughably wrong but I’m curious, a simple troll perhaps. Who is talking about tariffs anyway, it gives you away as a partisan, I have to guess.
I keep seeing you chiming in with your comments but I also keep seeing people basically ignoring you. At what point do you get a clue and go trolling elsewhere?
You new to the internet? Most comments are not responded to. If you think people care what others think of them perhaps you are projecting. I dnt know if youre taking to me, but thats the beauty i dont care. Go ahead read it or dont respond or get muted, dont. Who cares. I say whats true or true as i perceive it and do not care beyond that. Try it you may learn something
@Raymond……I fully agree with ya, they don’t understand that the dollar is worth 30% less than it did 4 years ago. It’s an extra 100 million on top of a 300 million dollar contract signed 4 years ago to keep the same value. Contracts for elite players though go up in value faster than inflation. That’s why Soto is getting what he’s being offered. It’s also why paying 50 million in 15 years is going to be peanuts to franchises that will have billion dollar payrolls by then if inflation doesn’t slow.
@kimg Its likely going to have deferred $. So not only is inflation going to lower value of the later years in time. But the present day value is also inflated as the deferred payments include the $ that accrued over time off of the required funding of deferrals.
I think the Yankees are the favorite if all offers are close to each other. But you never know… maybe the Yankees are offering $720 million and the Mets $800 million. Cohen is a son of a btch
Bronx: Yes, and a very wealthy one at that.
Congratulations to the dodgers on signing Soto for 3 Denny’s grandslams and 14.3 billion in deferred money starting in 2042.
Tired and forced.
Congratulations on being financially illiterate and having zero understanding how deferred contracts work in MLB.
Teams are required to fund the principal annualy needed to accrue to the vale stated at time of collection down the road. So teams are not saving $, they are funding the payments in today’s dollars and the player opts to collect later. All it is doing is inflating the overall #. Ohtani for example could have just collected $46M annually and if he invested majority of it, he’d likely make more than under the terms of his contract.
Is he a top 5 player?
Nope. Just young and a free agent at the right time.
Not if youre out of the bidding apparently. Sour grapes
He’s a slightly better version of Adam Dunn.
@Wv
He debuted the same year as Ohtani. He’s 5th in overall WAR and 2nd only to Judge in offense WAR. He’s a generational hitter.
And his skill set doesnt rely on much that is breakable and his size looks durable. Its unlikely he suffers career altering injury or his ability to see the ball so well goes away
Last three years matters more bc some players keep improving. Ohtani the better hitter than soto over that span, in WRC+, offensive WAR, etc. And over last three years soto 7th in WAR. He’s an elite hitter for sure, but not as good an overall player as the contract he’s likely getting .
If you want to compare ohtani aged 26-29 to soto age 22-25 then feel free but you should at least inform people of your manipulation
Its not a manipulation to look at the last three seasons of each player. Theyre the most relevant to any evaluator. Nobody will place much stock in what happened 4-5 seasons ago. It just means ohtani is the better hitter and player now. And that could change in 2-3 years too.
Of course it is. You are comparing a player in his prime to a player before his prime because it suits your argument
No, im comparing two players now bc people are trying to rank him higher than he currently is. Your own bias is clear. I was responding to knicksfan who was comparing their careers bc they debuted at the same time. And i was saying the career numbers are one thing, but ohtani has been the better player in recent years. Just the facts for those trying to place soto above ohtani now. Like i said, maybe in three years, we’ll see.
Ive disliked soto his entire career and still do. Im def not biased in his favor. Your statement is dishonest, or stupid, period
He’s a top 5 player, 4th at best. I just don’t see him putting anyone over the top
Yea, never heard of the 4th best on the planet changing the trajectory of any team. You make a real good point
Can’t wait until this is over, it’s getting ridiculous
jvent: It’s not my money and it’s definitely not going to be my team, so I just enjoy sitting back and enjoying the show.
There are two cities on Soto’s list in which he is willing to play and he is using all the other clubs to move the needle as high as he can get then he’ll go back to those two cities and choose which one.
And neither of those cities is Toronto.
Tagged so we can revisit this lol
Yeah it’s between Boston and the 2 New York teams. He had a East Coast preference, the Dominican legacy with Pedro and Ortiz runs deep in Boston and New York is well New York lol.
Good for Soto. As for the team that signs him, there’s a litany of long term deals that show there’s too much risk at that salary and length – Rendon, Stanton, Corbin, Bryant, etc.
legacy.baseballprospectus.com/compensation/cots/le…
Go through that list of deals that 7+ years and are complete or close to complete and tell us what percentage were good vs bad deals. When you come out at 60/40 split in favor of the team owners, we will know you are on the right track.
@out
Interesting list… like you said, many only a few years in, so too soon to evaluate. Though a deal like trout’s already looks bad unless he somehow stays healthy next few years. For the ones going back 7+ years, hard to find many hitters that worked out (where they averaged, lets say, 4+ war over the life of the deal). Many had 3-5 very good/great years and that was it. Cano pujols cabrera stanton votto fielder texeira ARod second contract all underperformed (going by my war criteria). Some current ones looking very good, but again, have to wait 5-7 more years to truly evaluate. Thanks for sharing that link.
@Texas
Bad comparison.
Let’s assume that he’s a legit 26 for the 2025 season.
Rendon and Bryant signed their first FA contract at 30.
Miggy, Arod, Pujols, all signed their contracts or extensions at age 33/34. Corbin just wasn’t that guy, and most of us thought it would end badly immediately. Not due to aging, injuries, or declining skills but because he was a mid-rotation guy at best. Stanton was a freak looking athlete who just couldn’t stay on the floor. It had nothing to do with declining skills as his bat speed is still elite, but he was always injury prone. That was just a poor decision for the Yanks.
Soto is 26 and send to be in relatively good shape. Ppl make a point of him being slow. Being a slow runner doesn’t mean your not athletic. As long as he stays in shape he should be OK God willing, he avoids an injury from being hit or hurting himself, skidding or diving. But there shouldn’t be any worry of degenerative issues until he hits the 32 mark.
Youre a more patient man than me for explaining that 🙂 at this point in my life i assume pretty much evryone is either a moron or troll and not worth trying explain stuff to
@Raymond
I got time today.
You calling others trolls! LMAO now I’ve heard it ALL!
That’s nice hind sight. None of those issues were there when they signed. Miggy, Pujols, and A-Rod all signed when it was common to play well until 40 (we now know the reason why), so teams had expectations. The one thing that was true, it was reasonable to expect good production thru out the contract at the time it was sign. Lets revisit in 10 years to see why all 5 teams bidding were either right or wrong.
Fools
LOL…700 Million…NO thanks. I could use that amount to improve my team in so many more ways.
Which team do you own?
@moose
But here’s the point. Sign or not signed the Yanks still have to fill those holes at other positions. millions more need to be spent. It’s never a one or the other. It’s all of the above. Maybe they would have to settle for a short term deal for Belli or Santana rather than a 4 year deal with Walker. $$$ will be sent
How do you know?
At this point I am convinced that the blue jays need him to convince both Vlad and Bo they are serious. I am guessing it is a “put your money where your mouth is” scenario. IF Soto signs then the blue jays will be shown as serious and we will see some more people locked in.
Ken R is a d bag and so is Buster O.
Vlad needs to get serious about conditioning, or he will be out of baseball in 5 years.
Vlad is serious. Watch the videos.
Ohtani > Soto in real life. If you pay Soto more you’re charging yourself a desperation tax.
@dave2: That’s the thing. I completely get a goliath like LAD paying Ohtani so much. He’s the MJ of Japan, global marketing sensation and does it all. Soto is a great hitter, but wow in baseball you can’t dominate a playoff game like say Mahomes or Jordan.
cwsoverhaul: Ohtani can’t do it all. He doesn’t play the field.
He’s only getting more because he’s much younger, and the second-best LH bat after Ohtani.
Moreover, he’s much, much more accomplished than 99.9% of the Major Leaguers at his age.
I have little doubt that he is a better bat than ohtani. He has a higher career OPS and is what 4 years younger?
As well as a POS of a human being.
Glad to bet he’s at least 28.
Go ahead prove it. Im sure someone will pay you for the article.
They also said DJLM was incredible
Now the yanks regret that contract
Ohtani is 4 years older the Soto. Age is the key factor here.
Not for just a hitter. Ohtani will pitch soon enough. Unfortunately know messing with age is norm for quite awhile having spoken to natives who are honest and specifically in DR (fluent in Spanish) beyond lazy suspicion. Don’t blame the $$ incentive either and shortcuts when seeing reality upclose for decades. If you are a POBO-just add 2 here. Still prime early-but it matters in doing business.
Yea how dare soto not pitch!
He’d have signed by now if he was willing to play 2B.
Why are the Dodgers least likely to sign Soto? Why would he want to sign with the lol Mets, Red Sox, or Blue Jays? The Yankees and the Dodgers were in the World Series in 2024, the Dodgers will be in it every year for the next 9 years at least, and the Yankees will be in it if they re-sign Soto. But I’ve never understood why players seek money, but not a championship, when they could seek money and a championship. What’s wrong with several World Series rings?
Boston is MUCH closer to competing for the WS than you think. With Soto, and a couple top of the rotation pitchers, they are right back in the thick of it. Not to mention their farm system is stacked and they have a young core on the MLB team now. Their future is MUCH brighter than the Yankees, who have maybe a 2 or 3 year window as it stands.
RED SUX!
CheapBloom … what a joke! Last place team is so close … if they just sign Soto and “a couple of top of the rotation pitchers” – yeah, we’re all missing the boat on how great the Sox are. All of those prospects are gonna be stars, right?
they finished in third this past season, if they stay healthy and get some improved talent they will be good
Cheap – Did you not read the article?
“Soto’s goal going into the big winter sweepstakes was to identify a consistent winner who’d pay what he’s worth”
Of the 5 supposed finalists for Soto, no team has sucked more often over the past 6 years than the Red Sox.
They’ve also finished in last place 6 times since 2012, how many other teams can claim that?
They’ve also missed the postseason 10 times since 2010.
Let’s face it … if Soto’s top priority is being on a consistent winner, he will sign with the Yankees or Dodgers. They make the playoffs pretty much every year.
And this is EXACTLY what Sox ownership was too arrogant and dumb to realize, their cheapness has longterm repercussions. They’ve earned a bad reputation that forces players to stay away unless they receive a massive overpay (Story, Yoshida, etc).
If Soto is dumb enough to believe the Red Sox suddenly have the same longterm commitment to winning that the Dodgers and Yankees have, then so be it.
and they’ve won two world series since 2012 as well, none of the other teams in the main four and the dodgers who seem like a long shot
cred – Consistent winner means consistently contending. He wants to play in meaningful September games every year, not every three years which is what the Red Sox have averaged over the past 15 years.
2018 was 6 years ago, it holds no weight now.
Was going to say the Angels, but they haven’t. It just feels that way since they have been in 4th 6 times and last just once in last 9 seasons.
If the Red Sox are willing to pay whatever crazy amount Soto is going to get, they will be moving on from the cheapness phase. Soto alone is not going to make them a contender but with a few other pieces and the youth they have on the team and in the wings they have the potential to be a long term contender. They likely need to overspend on pitching, defense, as well as make the right trades, but it is possible they could take a huge step up.
It’s not surprising to see Fever Pitch Guy trying to squash a Red Sox fan’s optimism.
Farm system noise is always above reality. On a 14 year analysis, the top rated prospects averaged 3.5 WAR which plummeted to an average just below 2 WAR outside of the top 5.
Overall only 30% of top 100 prospects were determined to be non-bust with pitchers being the higher risk of the two categories.
Out of the 4 Red Sox studs, history says you MAY have one star and probably 2 hits out of the 4.
LaD would sacrifice $1m in pool money signing Soto and that would take them out of the race for the Japanese ace. LaD is Japan’s team and that seems to be the priority. They did their due diligence and put a Soto offer in but it’s not a serious bid.
He’s already a Met…unfortunately my Jays didn’t even got him on the plane… crazy how media wants to keep a 750M secret for a full weekend.
No reports of it yet. Unless you take Adrian’s word for it.
Gotta get Herjavec to fly him in.
Ohtani kept telling the Jays to fry him in and they didn’t get it. (Cancel me, I grew up watching Benny Hill.)
Going Live NOW to a video feed from the Official MLBTRaderumors Drone cam in . . . 1,2,3 seconds (in Dallas Texas)
Stand By. Some Technical Difficulties Apparently
Look there is Scott Boras on a hotel balcony waving.
A fool money and there fans money will soon depart from each other.
Ha! Spot on.
14 years 700 million
7 years 350 million Yankees
7 years 350 million Mets
50mil aav. No opt outs
Imo if you he signs with the Sox it wont change anything for me because there a yr late and I know that it would probably be the biggest move they will make in the next few years leading to the same garbage we’ve been getting the past few years
He’s definitely not worth anywhere near that much.
Am I the only one that thinks his value is far beneath ohtani?
100%, not even close.
Nope, it is just difficult to get a word in edgewise, with some of the folks in here. Actually, the guy (?) who keeps begging people to explain inflation. Apparently, he doesn’t understand the concept.
Soto was on a Pares team with a few legitimate stars and it went nowhere. He was on a team with Judge, Stanton and Cole, which also could not beat Ohtani’s team. Really didn’t put up much of a fight. Soto is good but hasn’t shown any otherworldy gifts or strengths that can carry a team. Ohtani can.
Lots of money for a one dimensional guy who’s probably older than his listed age, and not a very nice human being.
Its Boras just pumping up the volume. Who would kno what kinda offers have been made ? Intentional leak to press to help drive up value.
Ridiculous!
A Billion !!!
Don’t do it Steve! Think of the tradability factor about year 2032 on…
Pffffttttt
Totally over rated
Not a generational talent
Miquel Cabrera was a generational talent
Soto is not
First you spelled his name wrong.
Second. I don’t really care about WAR, but people seem to. If you compare their first 7 years to each other. Soto has like 10 more.
Less RBI, but way more walks, SB, higher OBP, higher OPS+, Comparable HR. With like 100 less plate appearances.
If he keeps playing like he has, He won’t be far off from Miggy.
No thank you.
Jon “Arson Judge” Heyman losing it on radio host Keith McPherson recently is damn near one of the funniest things I’ve heard in a long time.
The Dodgers probably just being there to drive up the price
I like how fans think teams want to drive up prices.
Why wouldn’t teams want to drive up prices? Especially against division rivals?
If you’re the Red Sox or Blue Jays and have 0 shot at signing Soto why wouldn’t you put say $750 mill on the table and let Boras go to the Yankees and say here’s the current offer?
If Yankees signed Soto at 600 mill they could spend 150 mill on say Corbin Burnes for a total of 750 mill
But if Sotos price tag goes up to 750 mill cause that’s what the Red Sox and Blue Jays are offering are Yankees gonna pay Burnes 150 mill now? Probably not as likely.
Jacking up the price makes tons of sense cause then it limits that teams spending power for other free agents.
700M for a 31 yr old DH. Unreal.
Looks 20 years old to me https://media.gettyimages.com/id/1184542177/photo/houston-texas-juan-soto-of-the-washington-nationals-holds-the-commissioners-trophy-after.jpg?s=612×612&w=0&k=20&c=3SznETzAR1-9cMuPtoZFu5PwQWg_H_vB4JCvA4yNaVQ=
Not to me images.app.goo.gl/u2wPoNBjo8VZEVQe6
Ok but thas from star trek and a waste of my time
Dodgers are having a hard time convincing him to defer $699 million til 2065…
Heyman and Boras are quite a team
There’s not an athlete alive that’s worth that kind of money.
Therefore you only demonstrate a lack of understanding
I express my opinion, you mean? Therefore you just go do your sarcastic little thing, however irrelevant it might be to my opinion.
Agreed however who should the revenue go to? The owner?
Society does have its priorities backwards but this is the world we live in
Has nothing to do with priorities. Its simple economics. The only distortion is ever rising prices of inflation the rest is pretty basic economics. A free market gives the employee what he is worth. Selling millions of tickets is valuable and if the plebes are willing to be pay then that sets value.
And yes inflation is a major problem but you can look at it either way, many of these players/agents want short deals because the dollar is losing value so rapidly. In hyper inflations the pay u twice a day. Learn about it and get used to it, the dollar figures will rise relentlessly
Flagstaff is the only person I have ever muted on the first thread I have seen them post. What a lowlife.
All the teams – with the exception of the Mets are signing their death warrant. He’s one player that does one thing very well and everything else very badly. There’s no comparison to Otani, who besides being and even better hitter, and a starting pitcher can also beat you on the bases.
The Yankees had Soto and Judge and did they win the World Series? Just hoping these numbers are all garbage.
As a Yanks fan, I’m cool with it. If you use metrics to quantify a mute representative fiscal value of a player, then Soto is likely worth about $70 per. So consider a 15/$700 the same as a 10/$700 deal. Give that value four ages 26-35, and I’ll write the rest off.
Fans are worried that it’s “sign Soto” vs “spread the money around to others. Do you really think the Yanks front office doesn’t realize this? They just got the taste of falling to the new “Big bullys” in the block, the LA Dodgers while out headlining the Mets and their even bigger bully. This is a modern-day Coke vs. Pepsi, Nike vs Adidas, Marvel vs DC, McDonald’s vs Burger King. Yanks aren’t going to splurge $700 mil to bring back the same player from last year but leave gaping holes in 3b/2b, 1b, closer, the bullpen, and maybe another FOR starter.I would almost insist that that’s gotta be a selling point, for or against, but the Yanks and Boras. Off-field money is lost when your team sucks. How many guys hit over 40 homeruns but a casual fan, a daily box-score reader of their favorite team, even know who Santander or Booker are? So does Soto want to go somewhere where he might still be a top 3 hitter, but his team seldom get big time coverage? Arod was the best player but at the same time, Jeter was much more popular and relevant. Mike Trout was a generational player, but off the field, he didn’t sell anywhere near his contemporaries like LBJ or Brady. The Blue Jay’s might be willing to offer Soto the bag, but are they them going to be willing to spend on big money for a true #1 like Burnes or Reid? Will they retain Vlad and other key players after 2025? What have they done to improve a 77 win team that finished 5th? The Mets are already showing their hand. They went cheap on SP. Signing Montas and Clay Holmes with the plan bring to transform the cost into a starter? That’s a pitcher hoping to rebound from a bad year and trying to convert a reliable mini-van into a sexy lux sportscar. Unless you know the Mets are deep in conversation for a Burns or Reid or a replacement for Alonzo, etc, then you shouldn’t entertain a Mets offer. That’s scarily similar to Cano leaving to accept a few dollars more in Seattle.
In fact, I of course, don’t know the market like that, but I’m almost upset that Yanks haven’t signed anyone else already. Push up the clock and send a message to Soto. “While we wait for you to accept our $700 mil, where outside! We’re taking care of our other needs, irrespective of the money we have on the side for you.
I bet the Yanks are going to go all out this year and suffer the worst penalties, financially and in the draft capital loss. Take the 1 year hit by filling in the other needs with short term deals mixed with up coming prospects banging on the door (Rice, Durbin and Dominguez). I think they’ll sign Reid to a 6 year deal. I could see them offer Santana a 1 year deal with a team option vs. buyout. Walker on a 3 year deal. Or go after vets like Arenado or Bellinger. I like the idea of trading for Bohm and sliding Jazz back to 2nd. I think he had a lot of unlocked potential that maybe the Yanks can help unleash. Point is, this isn’t going to be a sign Soto or spread his money around. It MUST be sign Soto AND improve at other positions. Their loyalty to the brand integrity insists that they do more than “try to get to the world series “. That’s OK for many franchises but not for the Yanks, Dodgers, etc. even Red Sox fan base insists on more.
@baseball
Ok .
It just becomes a bad baseball move at 700m over 13-15 years. Could spend that amount on 4 very good players with much shorter commitments.
The lack of a salary cap makes that not matter. Teams that are willing to give him that much, could still spend on 4 more very good players as well if they wanted too.
Dodgers did it just last year, Ohtani, Teoscar, Paxton, Yamamoto, etc etc etc
He’s not worth that money I’m walking away he’ll be a DH in 5 years not worth that
If Yankees don’t sign him they’re gonna have to sign so many new players lol (and they still need to sign others after him!)
Since it was recently reported that Cohen would top any other offer(s) by $50M, if that’s true, does that mean that if the Yanks/Sox (or anyone else) is at $700M, then the Mets really would go to $750M?
Related question: How high is the sky..?
Love Soto…..but as a Yankees fan, no thanks!! Sign Burnes and Bregman, trade for Bellinger and keep the change!
Jazz, Judge, Bellinger, Bregman, Martian, Stanton, Wells, Volpe and Durbin is plenty of offense.
Cole, Burnes, Gil, Rodon and Schmidt is the best rotation in the AL.
ABSOLUTE INSANITY!!
I tend to agree with the majority here in that 700/15 seems unfathomable. However most teams are owned by multi billionaires who generate revenue from a myriad of sources whilst minimising their tax commitments in way the rest of us can only dream about. My only concern as a Red Sox fan is they sign this guy and go cheap elsewhere. Fenway sports can definitely afford Soto but they still need pitching!
Implement a cap.
Yes for idiots who post about caps. 1-2-3 your outta here. Lol
The flip side is hearing people who post “X multimillion for X years is completely outrageous”
Boras always has a mystery team. Who will we find out was in the running the whole way that the guys like Heyman had no clue about?
Around $710 million you get to $1 billion Canadian (depending on exchange rate that day) in case he wants to claim a billion dollar contract, but for anyone to think of it that way he’d need to sign in Toronto.
For funniest idea – Angels show up last minute and sign him out from under everyone despite losing Ohtani last winter. That would be funny and guarantee we never see Soto in the playoffs again
Happy Arson Judge day Giants fans!
heyman: manslaughter soto to the blue jays!
The Blue Jays had better just be in it to drive up the bidding and try to bankrupt the Yankees or Red Sox. If they accidentally win the bidding, it’s going to be a disaster. No money left for Vladdy, no chance of fixing the bullpen to build a competitive team in ’25 or adding rotation depth for future years, one injury to Soto away from losing 100 games, and too financially-committed to do any rebuilding for the next ~13 years.
Rogers made $523MM in profits last quarter. They can afford both Soto & Vlad & still address other needs if they want to.
No corporation in all history has sought to minimize their profits, and they don’t have an ego to assuage with half billion dollar investments in winning that can’t possibly pay off financially. Rogers profit is irrelevant to Blue Jays payroll.
Another byproduct is wealthier teams pushing the QO beyond what the other teams in the league can sustain.
I was under the impression the idea was to give the developing team an opportunity to retain their drafts by discouraging those wealthier teams through loss of their own cost controlled draft picks.
Obviously, the money doesn’t care and…..the players want the money, so…duh….
Just like a microcosm of the universe,
we’ll just have to wait until the fat boy pukes.
He’s not worth that much and will end up hurting the team
I feel like the team that don’t sign him will have dodged a bullet, maybe why it won’t be the dodgers likely
Can he pitch?
It’s interesting that he is not looking at the tax situation.
Deferring money to his retirement age he could set up residence in a country that has no or limited taxes
Has there been any talk about opt out potentials in any deals? I would think with the potential numbers that are being reported there wouldn’t be any. Could he see himself possibly going back into the market at age 30?
F Soto…..PERIOD!
People have been clamoring for the Sox to get a big free agent.Soto is a big free agent.My thought is i hope they don’t get him and sign 3 free agent pitchers.Fried,Beuhler and someone else.
Soto is not worth that much money. He’s only batted over 300 for a season and a half and Yankee Stadium is probably the reason why he a career high in home runs at 41. I’d rather see the Dodgers sign Teoscar and Santander and still have cash for another starter/relievers.
What the hell would one do with 700 million dollars?
2 chicks at the same time
Damn, $700mil?…. That’s dumb, and desperate.
He’s not Ohtani
No player is worth that. MLB is out of control.
$50Million for 14 years is a contract that I believe Soto could make good on. By year 10 his value would be so much higher than his cost that he could become average and still be ahead at 14 years. Injuries will be the deciding factor, just like most long term deals. Mookie has proven that his numbers were not too high and he doesn’t appear to be slowing down going into year six of the deal. His value overage at this point would allow him an average year or two but that may not happen based on his team. Only injury can make his numbers not pay off. Wow was Boston stupid.