How Juan Soto Signing Affects Pirates
As the baseball world awaits one of the most anticipated free agent signings in the sport's history by Juan Soto, teams that aren't in the running for the superstar outfielder like the Pittsburgh Pirates could find themselves caught in the aftershock.
To the surprise of absolutely no one, Pittsburgh isn't in the running for Soto. The generational left-handed hitting outfielder is reportedly close to making his decision ahead of the Winter Meetings in Dallas Texas and New York Post insider Jon Heyman has reported the potential deal could be around 15 years for $700 million.
While Pittsburgh may have never been in contention for Soto, the aftermath could have a huge bearing on its plans for the rest of the offseason.
The New York Yankees, New York Mets, Toronto Blue Jays, Los Angeles Dodgers and Boston Red Sox are all in hot pursuit of the power-hitting corner outfielder. While one team will land the biggest fish in free agency, the other four teams will still have the gaping hole they were looking to fill by signing Soto to potentially the largest contract in North American sports history.
Therein lies the problem for the Pirates.
Expecting Pittsburgh to be in the running for corner outfielders like Anthony Santander or Teoscar Hernández may be far-fetched, the next tier of outfielders could fall in line with what it could be willing to spend. Tyler O'Neill, Jurickson Profar and Max Kepler could all be options for the teams who miss out on Soto. Right-handed hitting first baseman Christian Walker is another name who could fall into the price range for Pittsburgh but could see his value skyrocket once a team didn't sign Soto enters the conversation.
The Pirates getting in a potential bidding war with a team like the Mets or Yankees after they missed out on Soto more than likely won't end well for them. Pittsburgh would likely gain some competition in the trade market as well, though, it's much better equipped to come out on the winning end of that deal due to its pitching depth in the majors and minor leagues.
Patience can be a virtue in free agency, but it can also work to a team's detriment. Thus far, the Pirates have been patient and given their history of rarely spending in free agency, whose to know if they actually have a significant move up their sleeve.?
Regardless, if the Pirates are going to add an impactful bat this offseason, it may get much more difficult once Soto puts pen to paper.
