With word coming down that we could hear about a Juan Soto decision BEFORE the Winter Meetings start on Monday, and having already known that Soto was in the process of eliminating teams, it is perhaps not a surprise that a report about another outfielder is coming down more or less simultaneously.
First, I want to point out that in a round-up type post at MLB.com that was mostly about the Yankees and Willy Adames as a Soto back-up plan, Mark Feinsand added this almost as an aside: “The Juan Soto sweepstakes appear to be heading toward their conclusion, with four teams [the Yankees, Mets, Red Sox, and Blue Jays] clearly establishing themselves as favorites for the generational talent …. The Dodgers also met with Soto, but sources indicate that Los Angeles is unlikely to sign the four-time All-Star.”
That’s not being widely reported, but I tend to think it’s probably true and accepted across the industry, because the Dodgers are apparently moving quickly to finalize a deal with a different outfielder:
None of that is shocking. Although you would never rule anyone out for the Dodgers, it felt more like they were in on Juan Soto because they could be, rather than him being central to their offseason pursuits. Instead, it always felt like a reunion with fellow corner outfielder Teoscar Hernández, who shined in L.A., was fated to occur at some point.
So there you go. It’s likely that a deal between the Dodgers and Hernández gets done soon, and you can probably cross the Dodgers off the possible Soto list.
As the outfield market sorts itself, by the way, it’s possible there will be an uptick in Cody Bellinger rumors as another fall-back option.
