Fastball

Toronto Blue Jays Free Agent Target Juan Soto Reportedly Names His Asking Price

The initial numbers on what Soto wants are out.

Brady Farkas

New York Yankees outfielder Juan Soto (22) makes the final out during the tenth inning to beat the Cleveland Guardians during game five of the ALCS for the 2024 MLB playoffs at Progressive Field on Oct 19.
New York Yankees outfielder Juan Soto (22) makes the final out during the tenth inning to beat the Cleveland Guardians during game five of the ALCS for the 2024 MLB playoffs at Progressive Field on Oct 19. / David Richard-Imagn Images
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If the offseason heading into 2024 was the offseason of Shohei Ohtani, then the offseason heading into 2025 is the offseason of Juan Soto.

Soto, the generational talent, is a free agent for the first time in his career. At the age of 26, he could command the biggest contract in history, perhaps even surpassing the $700 million that Ohtani got from the Dodgers.

And according to a recent report from Marino Pepen, we have an idea of what Soto is looking for financially:

Ryan Spaeder put the report on social media:

Juan Soto is seeking a 12-14 year deal for $45 million per season with opt outs after the third and fourth seasons (reporte de @Marino_Pepen en espanol).

A 12-year deal at $45 million per year would equate to $540 million while a 14-year deal would be $630. That seems low, based on what we've heard about the Soto market, but perhaps the numbers are a little lower than we thought.

Having opt-outs before his age 29 and 30 season make sense, giving him the flexibility to chase even bigger dollars one more time in his career.

The Blue Jays have the financial wherewithal to go after Soto at these numbers, it's just a question of if Soto will want to come to Toronto. The New York Mets are thought to be the favorite, though Toronto has reportedly done a good job throughout the process. He has also met with the Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox.

Soto is coming off a year in which he hit .288 with 41 homers and 109 RBI for the Yankees, who advanced to the World Series.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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