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MLB Insider Provides Crucial Context to Juan Soto Free Agency Offers, Timeline
Juan Soto is still pondering his future home, but we may not have to wait much longer to find out where he'll be playing next season and beyond.
On Wednesday, MLB insider Andy Martino laid out a possible timeline for Soto to decide on his destination in free agency and where all the major players are expected to stand right now. While Martino stressed that nothing is imminent, it may not take much longer for there to be a resolution.
As of now there are four major players in Soto's free agent chase. The Toronto Blue Jays appear to be the most aggressive financially, but are less likely to be his final destination. Then the New York Mets, New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox are all going hard after the superstar slugger.
One crucial note Martino provided is that all the bids are blind, and that none of the teams know the offers the others are making.
"For the clubs involved, everything is a guessing game, from team to timing. Bids are happening blindly, meaning that no club knows what the others are offering. The basic dynamic remains similar to what we reported on Monday: Toronto is widely believed to be the most aggressive financially, but a less likely landing spot. The Mets, Yankees and Red Sox are all in hot pursuit of Soto," Martino wrote.
The 26-year-old Soto is a four-time All-Star, three-time MLB first-teamer, has won five straight Silver Slugger Awards, and led the Washington Nationals to a World Series title in 2019. In 2024 he spent his first season with the Yankees and slashed .288/.419/.569 with 41 home runs and 109 RBIs. He posted an OPS of .989 and racked up 7.9 WAR which was a career best.
It now appears likely that by next week, a team will have landed one of the best hitters in baseball and a player on a Hall of Fame trajectory. Baseball is just waiting on Soto and his agent, Scott Boras to make up their minds.
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Ryan Phillips is a senior writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He has worked in digital media since 2009, spending eight years at The Big Lead before joining SI in 2024. Phillips also co-hosts The Assembly Call Podcast about Indiana Hoosiers basketball and previously worked at Bleacher Report. He is a proud San Diego native and a graduate of Indiana University’s journalism program.