Blue Jays Expected to Be Highest Bidders for Juan Soto in Free Agency
The Juan Soto sweepstakes is the MLB offseason's largest domino that has yet to fall.
Soto is fielding offers from a multitude of teams, including the Toronto Blue Jays, who were thought of as a dark horse to land the former Yankees slugger. But that may have changed according to new reports.
SNY's Andy Martino reported Monday that there is "widespread belief" amongst bidders that the Blue Jays will have the highest offer for Soto. MLB Network Radio's Jim Duquette shared a similar report Monday as well.
"You can't rule out the Blue Jays," Duquette said on MLB Network Radio. "I've heard from many people that they think Toronto is going to be the highest bidder."
Other than Toronto, the New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers, Boston Red Sox and New York Mets are the expected players in the Soto sweepstakes. Per reports, Soto has already had a first meeting with all those teams, including a meeting with the Blue Jays on Nov. 15 which was described as "impressive" by Jon Heyman of the New York Post.
The Blue Jays also put together a massive offer for then-free agent Shohei Ohtani last offseason before he decided to sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers, according to ESPN's Jeff Passan.
As Soto continues to weigh his options, Toronto is pushing their chips all in.