{"id":4804,"date":"2024-09-27T07:56:30","date_gmt":"2024-09-27T07:56:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.drinkfood.info\/?p=4804"},"modified":"2024-09-27T07:56:30","modified_gmt":"2024-09-27T07:56:30","slug":"ranking-7-potential-landing-spots-for-juan-soto-where-could-he-be-headed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.drinkfood.info\/?p=4804","title":{"rendered":"Ranking 7 Potential Landing Spots for Juan Soto: Where Could He Be Headed?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/GettyImages-2174538031-e1727358925241.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780\" alt=\"juan soto\" \/><\/p>\n<div id=\"post-featured-container-id\">\n<div id=\"post-featured\" class=\"wp-caption\">\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Yankees outfielder Juan Soto is going to be this winter&#8217;s top MLB free agent. Which team will he be playing for in 2025 and beyond?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Outfielder Juan Soto is finishing his first regular season with the\u00a0New York Yankees. It\u2019s been a terrific year for the 25-year-old slugger, who has posted a .993 OPS with 41 home runs and 108 RBI. He\u2019s set to become a free agent once the postseason concludes and will be the\u00a0top-ranked player on the open market.<\/p>\n<p>Which teams will be vying for his services?\u00a0Jon Heyman of the New York Post mentioned\u00a0seven teams who could be in the mix on a September 25 Bleacher Report live stream. Those teams include the Yankees,\u00a0New York Mets,\u00a0San Francisco Giants,\u00a0Boston Red Sox,\u00a0Los Angeles Dodgers,\u00a0Toronto Blue Jays\u00a0and\u00a0Chicago Cubs.<\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s discuss what kind of contract the Scott Boras client could sign and rank these potential landing spots.<\/p>\n<h2>Juan Soto\u2019s Next Contract Could Break a Record<\/h2>\n<p>Shohei Ohtani\u2019s 10-year, $700 million contract with the Dodgers is the richest in baseball history. Due to $680 million of it getting deferred,\u00a0the present-day value\u00a0of his deal checks in at around $460 million. That\u2019s a huge drop-off, but it\u2019s still baseball\u2019s richest contract.<\/p>\n<p>Soto\u00a0rejected a 15-year, $440 million contract extension\u00a0from the\u00a0Washington Nationals\u00a0in 2022. His camp will likely not only be looking for more than that, but it wouldn\u2019t be crazy to think their goal is to beat Ohtani\u2019s record.<\/p>\n<div id=\"AdThrive_Content_2_desktop\" class=\"adthrive-ad adthrive-content adthrive-content-2 adthrive-ad-cls\" data-google-query-id=\"\">\n<div id=\"google_ads_iframe_\/18190176,25816858\/AdThrive_Content_2\/5ad7479721520f50ab7da88e_0__container__\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"google-ad-manager-fallback-container\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The Athletic\u2019s Tim Britton has shared\u00a0three Soto contract projections since the spring of 2023, and the numbers keep increasing. In all instances, the term of his contract has remained at 14 years. However, the compensation has gone from\u00a0$528 million\u00a0to\u00a0$540 million\u00a0and\u00a0now to $560 million. On August 27,\u00a0ESPN\u2019s Jeff Passan said, \u201cThe industry agrees the floor for his contract will be $500 million.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Spotrac has pegged Soto\u2019s market value at 14 years and about $517 million.<\/p>\n<h2>Yankees &amp; Mets Appear to Be Juan Soto Frontrunners<\/h2>\n<p>Heyman said\u00a0on the live stream that the Yankees and Mets are the two most likely landing spots for Soto (and in that order). A Yankees-Mets bidding war for Soto has been brewing since at least spring training, as well.<\/p>\n<p>While it was too early for definitive reporting,\u00a0SNY\u2019s Andy Martino said\u00a0on February 18, \u201cThere really isn\u2019t any reason why the Mets wouldn\u2019t make a push for Soto.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"AdThrive_Content_4_desktop\" class=\"adthrive-ad adthrive-content adthrive-content-4 adthrive-ad-cls\" data-google-query-id=\"\">\n<div id=\"google_ads_iframe_\/18190176,25816858\/AdThrive_Content_4\/5ad7479721520f50ab7da88e_0__container__\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"google-ad-manager-fallback-container\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Bleacher Report\u2019s Zachary D. Rymer\u00a0made a case for each New York team\u00a0on May 24. \u201cThe heart says Soto will end up remaining with the Yankees. It may be a new relationship, but it just feels so\u2026well, so\u00a0<em>right<\/em>. But the head says the Mets,\u201d he said.\u00a0\u201cThough both clubs can afford a $500 million deal for Soto, the Mets seem\u00a0<em>more<\/em>\u00a0able to afford it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>While handicapping the Soto sweepstakes on August 15\u00a0for the New York Post, Heyman also had the Yankees (even money) and the Mets (5-1 odds) occupying the top two spots. So, whenever it comes to ranking Soto\u2019s potential free-agent landing spots, it only feels right to separate the Yankees and Mets from the rest of the field.<\/p>\n<h2>Ranking the Other 5 Juan Soto Landing Spots<\/h2>\n<p>While both New York teams look like top contenders for Soto, who else could throw their proverbial hat in the ring? Based on the teams Heyman mentioned on September 25, here\u2019s a quick ranking of the non-New York landing spots for the left-handed slugger (completely based on this writer\u2019s opinion):<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Chicago Cubs<\/li>\n<li>Los Angeles Dodgers<\/li>\n<li>Toronto Blue Jays<\/li>\n<li>San Francisco Giants<\/li>\n<li>Boston Red Sox<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>The Red Sox could afford a large contract and would benefit from installing Soto into their lineup with Rafael Devers. However, the organization\u2019s desire and willingness\u00a0to make a big splash\u00a0is a significant question.<\/p>\n<p>San Francisco and Toronto were involved in the Ohtani sweepstakes last winter, with Toronto\u00a0being a finalist for the two-way superstar. The Blue Jays\u2019 disappointing 2024 campaign\u00a0could spur other roster changes, but the desire to acquire a superstar of Soto\u2019s caliber is there. That can also be said about the Giants, who have failed to acquire big-time players\u00a0in recent years. They will again be in the mix for a generational talent, but their chances of being a serious suitor appear unlikely.<\/p>\n<div id=\"AdThrive_Content_6_desktop\" class=\"adthrive-ad adthrive-content adthrive-content-6 adthrive-ad-cls\" data-google-query-id=\"\">\n<div id=\"google_ads_iframe_\/18190176,25816858\/AdThrive_Content_6\/5ad7479721520f50ab7da88e_0__container__\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"google-ad-manager-fallback-container\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Could the Dodgers find a way to add another superstar to their roster after spending\u00a0more than $1 billion last offseason?\u00a0Heyman said\u00a0we can never count Los Angeles out following a historic winter. They\u2019ve shown that if they want to acquire a player,\u00a0it can become a reality.<\/p>\n<p>The Cubs are interesting because of their situation.\u00a0Spotrac currently has\u00a0Chicago\u2019s 2025 payroll commitment at $155 million. That will decrease\u00a0if Cody Bellinger opts out\u00a0of his $27.5 million salary. And if president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer wanted to make more payroll space, he has other options.\u00a0Starting pitcher Jameson Taillon ($18 million) and outfielder Ian Happ ($21 million) could each be floated as offseason trade candidates. The desire for Chicago to drop a half-billion dollars on one player might not be there. It\u2019s an interesting hypothetical, though.<\/p>\n<h2>3 Other Teams to Monitor During the Juan Soto Sweepstakes<\/h2>\n<p>Heyman didn\u2019t mention three teams that shouldn\u2019t be completely discounted as we head toward the winter. Those clubs are the\u00a0San Diego Padres, Nationals and\u00a0Philadelphia Phillies.<\/p>\n<p>The Padres\u00a0just traded\u00a0Soto away last winter to slash payroll. Signing him to a record-breaking deal the following winter seems unlikely. However,\u00a0it feels like something\u00a0that president of baseball operations AJ Preller would do.<\/p>\n<div id=\"AdThrive_Content_8_desktop\" class=\"adthrive-ad adthrive-content adthrive-content-8 adthrive-ad-cls\" data-google-query-id=\"\">\n<div id=\"google_ads_iframe_\/18190176,25816858\/AdThrive_Content_8\/5ad7479721520f50ab7da88e_0__container__\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"google-ad-manager-fallback-container\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Washington also traded\u00a0Soto away at the 2022 trade deadline,\u00a0but several MLB.com reporters and analysts think\u00a0they should be taken seriously in these sweepstakes. The Phillies don\u2019t make perfect sense for Soto\u00a0from the standpoint of roster construction. However, president of operations Dave Dombrowski is\u00a0known for making aggressive moves\u00a0to build a contender.<\/p>\n<p>Team owner John Middleton is fine with spending money to put a winner on the field. After all,\u00a0he wants his trophy back. If that doesn\u2019t happen this October, it might spur Philly to go big this winter.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Yankees outfielder Juan Soto is going to be this winter&#8217;s top MLB free agent. Which team will he be playing for in 2025 and beyond? Outfielder Juan&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":4808,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4804","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Ranking 7 Potential Landing Spots for Juan Soto: Where Could He Be Headed? - Sport News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportnews.drinkfood.info\/?p=4804\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ranking 7 Potential Landing Spots for Juan Soto: Where Could He Be Headed? - Sport News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Yankees outfielder Juan Soto is going to be this winter&#8217;s top MLB free agent. 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