Here are the Odds For the Seattle Mariners to Sign Juan Soto in Free Agency
The offseason is officially upon us. The first day of free agency was a relatively tame one. But that doesn't mean that there aren't moving pieces brewing in the background.
The biggest story around baseball this offseason is the free agency of Juan Soto.
Soto has played for the Washington Nationals, San Diego Padres and most recently the New York Yankees. The last of the three lost the World Series in five games to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Dodgers and the Yankees are also two teams expected to make a run at Soto in free agency.
JUAN SOTO THREE RUN HOME RUN IN THE 10TH!!!!!!!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/Tj4b5CuM4T
— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) October 20, 2024
Many Seattle Mariners fans have clamored for team owner/chairman John Stanton and President of Baseball Operations Jerry Dipoto to make a bid for Soto. But comments made by Stanton after the regular season made it pretty clear that Seattle wouldn't be going after any big-name (and big-money) free agents.
Someone must have forgotten to tell the oddsmakers about Stanton's comments.
According to recent odds released by popular sports betting website DraftKings, the Mariners are one of the top 10 teams most likely to sign Soto in the offseason.
According to DraftKings, the most likely teams to sign Soto in the offseason are, in order: the Yankees (-225), New York Mets (+380), Los Angeles (+650), Toronto Blue Jays (+1500), Chicago Cubs (+1500), San Francisco Giants (+1800), Boston Red Sox (+1800), Nationals (+2500), Seattle (+2500) and Padres (+2500).
It's incredibly telling that the Mariners have the same odds to sign Soto as the two teams that already traded him. Seattle didn't even pick up the phone to call Shohei Ohtani last season, who's likely to win his third Most Valuable Player award.
Soto is estimated to have a market value of 14 years and $513.6 million according to Spotrac. In actuality, Soto will likely earn more than that.
According to an article by the New York Post's Jon Heyman, Soto is eyeing a $700 million deal. Eleven teams have reportedly already reached out to Soto as of Thursday morning, according to the same article.
There's no way of knowing if the Mariners were one of those teams. Signing Soto would mean giving out the biggest deal in the history of the franchise.
Betting sites also aren't crystal balls.
The Mariners being included among the teams that could land Soto might simply be based on need and available cash and nothing else.
Even still, it's interesting to see the Mariners included in betting odds for one of the biggest free agents in the history of the game. Especially since the odds released several weeks after the team owner all but confirmed there was zero chance Seattle would pursue him.
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