Where Will $700 Million Yankees Free Agent Juan Soto Sign In Coming Days?

The Juan Soto sweepstakes is nearing a close. Soto is expected to sign in the coming days, with Sunday reportedly being the earliest day he may sign and next weekend seemingly the latest.

At this point, there are only five teams believed to be left in the Soto sweepstakes: the New York Yankees, New York Mets, Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays, and Los Angeles Dodgers.

Each team has its own selling point for Soto. Let’s dive into each one and then make an educated guess on where he’ll land and how much his mega-deal will be worth.

Los Angeles Dodgers
The Dodgers are seen as longshots in the Soto sweepstakes. They spent over a billion dollars last offseason and have already spent upwards of $300 million this winter.

But the Dodgers have still reportedly made an offer over $600 million. If the Dodgers are able to come anywhere close to the other four teams in terms of contractual value, how could Soto say no?

If Soto signs with the Dodgers, he’ll play alongside Shohei Ohtani for the next nine years. There are multiple World Series championships in that stretch, almost guaranteed.

Boston Red Sox
There may not be a team in baseball with a better young core than the Red Sox. Boston has so much young talent that it doesn’t have enough spots on the field to play all the young players.

Soto has a tight connection with Red Sox legend David Ortiz and a good friendship with third baseman Rafael Devers. Boston has the money to bid in the high $600 millions for Soto while also promising future success on the field.

New York Yankees
The incumbent Yankees have long been looked at as the favorites for Soto. Hal Steinbrenner and the Steinbrenner family rarely lose bidding wars for their own star players.

The Yankees front office feels the pressure to give Soto the money he wants and the fact that they’re still in the race for Soto as the bidding reaches over $600 million is a very good sign. If they’re in the race, they should be seen as the favorites.

Toronto Blue Jays
The Blue Jays offered Ohtani $700 million last offseason, likely without the heavy deferrals that the Dodgers gave him. That means Toronto could offer Soto $700 million over 15 years if it believes he’s worth it.

Soto is likely worth that and Toronto knows it. Pairing him alongside Vladimir Guerrero Jr., both 26 years old or younger, for the next ten years should result in quite a bit of success.

New York Mets
The Mets have the weapon that no other team on this list has: Steve Cohen. In a different world, Cohen matches any other offer that Soto gets and raises it $10 million. At that point, there’s nothing that anybody else can do because Cohen is the richest owner in baseball.

But that’s not realistic. There’s a number where he, like the other owners, will tap out and let Soto sign elsewhere. What that number is, we don’t really know. But Cohen is the reason that this sweepstakes is going to approach the $700 million mark, whether he and the Mets land Soto or not.

Final prediction: Soto signs with the New York Yankees for 15 years, $700 million ($46.6 million AAV)
A few weeks ago, it would have been laughable to assume the Yankees caught up $700 million for Soto. But the Dodgers signing Snell likely changed Steinbrenner and Brian Cashman’s sense of urgency.

If the Yankees miss on Soto, they won’t beat the Dodgers during Judge’s career and Judge will retire ringless. When you have the best player in the American League, you have to spend money to win around him.

Keeping Soto under contract through his age 41 season would do just that.

Though Judge is the better player than Soto right now, Soto is going to be the best player in baseball over the next decade. Steinbrenner and company don’t lose bidding wars for their own stars and that trend will continue when he coughs up a staggering $700 million to keep Soto in the Bronx for the rest of his career.

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