Sluggers Free Agency Decision Could Become Nightmare for Philadelphia Phillies

The Philadelphia Phillies rival might have the upper hand for the top free agent on the market.

Oct 19, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; 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. / David Richard-Imagn Images

Juan Soto finding the success he has with the New York Yankees doesn't help the Philadelphia Phillies' chances of signing him in the offseason.

Unfortunately, it looks like the pending free agent and top player on the market will choose between the Yankees and New York Mets.

Soto re-signing with New York wouldn't be the worst outcome. However, if he were to play for the Mets, that could be an issue for the Phillies. 

Philadelphia is in the same division as New York, which poses some worries about them winning the division moving forward. Factor in that their owner, Steve Cohen, is expected to spend money heavily during the offseason, and the Phillies have a chance to be directly affected by what happens with Soto's free agency. 

Take away the fact that many insiders have linked him to Philadelphia over the past few months, and there's still a chance that this will become a nightmare for the organization. 

New York and Soto have been linked to each other multiple times throughout the past few months and were again flirted as potential partners on Monday by Brandon Scott of Bleacher Report.

"It's becoming increasingly difficult to imagine Soto skipping over to the crosstown rival after playing such a pivotal role in getting the New York Yankees to the World Series. Yet money still talks, and the Mets still have a lot of it. Soto's new deal is expected to be around $600 million, per Heyman. ESPN's Buster Olney predicted on the Baseball Tonight podcast that Soto will land with the Mets, regardless if the Yankees win, citing the enthusiasm from Mets owner Steve Cohen."

While the chances of him signing with the Mets are much higher than him signing with the Phillies, it's impossible to count out Dave Dombrowski.

At the very least, he could bid for Soto and raise New York's price. If the Mets are only willing to give him $550 million and Dombrowski comes in with a $600 million offer, that could make Cohen extend his price, hurting his chances of signing other free agents.

There's a way to play mind games with New York this winter, but it might not get to that point.

If Philadelphia wants him, they likely won't mess around and give him offers just to hurt the Mets' chances of signing him.

They'll do everything they can to sign the slugger if he's on their free agency list, making this one of the most intriguing free agency decisions in a long time.