Reports have been flying about Juan Soto during the free agency period. The superstar outfielder has taken meetings with the New York Mets, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, and Toronto Blue Jays. Of those teams, New York Post insider Jon Heyman thinks he has a lean on the two favorites. He shared that on the paper’s YouTube show on Tuesday.
‘I’d say the Mets, followed by the Blue Jays, would be my guess today!’@JonHeyman tells @BrandonLondonTV which clubs have the early edge in the Juan Soto free agency sweepstakes
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— New York Post Sports (@nypostsports) November 19, 2024
“Don’t hold me to this, what I’m going to predict today, and I change every other day, I think it’s going to be about the money,” Heyman said. “So the teams that are going to be able to win the bidding war are probably the teams with the biggest advantage. And I’m gonna say right here that the Mets, followed by the Blue Jays…would be my guess today.”
The Mets should come as no surprise to anyone who has followed the Juan Soto sweepstakes for the past year. Steve Cohen has made it clear he intends to spend on his new team and there is no better player to spend on than Soto. Reports surfaced that they offered Soto $660 million in their first meeting.
The Blue Jays are a more controversial addition to the shortlist by Heyman. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic said Soto would not come to the Blue Jays while their roster was up in the air. After their involvement in Shohei Ohtani last winter, Toronto cannot be ruled out for Soto.
Best free agency fits for Juan Soto
Juan Soto and the New York Yankees looked like they were meant for each other last year. He hit a career-high 41 home runs, went to his second World Series, and hit a pennant-clinching homer. The Bronx crowd loved him and he thrived in the spotlight. Despite the excellent season, Soto has made no promises to return to the Yankees.
The Mets will be involved in every big free agency pursuit for a long time, especially Juan Soto. While the ragtag bunch used Grimace and OMG to get to the NLCS, Cohen is looking for the big splash. He tried two different big prizes in 2022 with Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander. That failed miserably but it is highly unlikely that Soto will too.
Despite their obvious commitment to go after big free agents, the Blue Jays are not the best fit for Soto. They would be better off trading Bo Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr and starting from scratch. A commitment to Soto would necessitate a commitment to Guerrero, which they might not be able to afford.
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