Philadelphia Phillies Target Reportedly Has Lofty ‘Goal’ in Contract Pursuit

The Philadelphia Phillies dream target has one goal in mind, and it's a big one.

Oct 29, 2024; New York, New York, USA; New York Yankees outfielder Juan Soto (22) on third base during the first inning in game four of the 2024 MLB World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Yankee Stadium. / Brad Penner-Imagn Images

John Middleton recently said he believes Juan Soto wants to play in New York.

Whether that stops the Philadelphia Phillies' pursuit in signing him remains to be seen, but from his comments, he isn't ready to give up.

However, Middleton and people in the Phillies' front office understand they could be used to raise his price for either New York team. Scott Boras is the best agent in the world for a reason, and he'll exhaust every potential avenue for his client to get the top dollar.

It isn't every year that baseball fans get to see a player of Soto's caliber hit the open market.

This is now three straight offseasons where one could argue that the best player in baseball is available after Aaron Judge was a free agent in 2022, Shohei Ohtani last winter, and now Soto.

That's rare.

Soto's contract is the most intriguing of them all.

Ohtani reset the market last offseason, but it's important to remember the idea is for him to pitch in the future. $700 million for an elite offensive player and a guy who can get on the mound and be an ace is something the game has never seen.

While Soto is as good as it gets offensively, it's tough to compare the two.

Despite that reality, Kiley McDaniel of ESPN wrote Boras and Soto's goal this winter will be to break Ohtani's record-breaking deal, even if that means by AAV.

"Some years, it's not clear who might get the highest contract -- say, Bryce Harper or Manny Machado in the 2018-19 offseason or Carlos Correa or Corey Seager in 2021-22. As with Ohtani last season, however, Soto won't have any competition for that honor and the goal for him and agent Scott Boras will be to top Ohtani's record-breaking deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers, which MLB valued at $460.8 million in present-day dollars (since so much of the $700 million deal was deferred)."

Soto getting $700 million seems unlikely at this point, however, given that much of Ohtani's deal was deferred, Soto could break the present-day value.

Philadelphia hasn't indicated at what price point they'd stop bidding.

The ownership has been willing to spend, but it's unclear if they'd hand him a $650 million deal.

The Phillies might be the team Boras uses to raise Soto's price but don't count them out just yet.

Players love to play in Philadelphia and they could be someone of his caliber away from winning a World Series, which might intrigue him.