Inside The Pinstripes

Yankees' AL East Rival Surprisingly Made Juan Soto a Unique Free Agency Offer

Ex-New York Yankees slugger Juan Soto received a free agency offer from a surprise AL East team that was different to the rest.

Grant Young

Dec 12, 2024; Flushing, NY, USA; New York Mets right fielder Juan Soto poses for photos during a press conference at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images
Dec 12, 2024; Flushing, NY, USA; New York Mets right fielder Juan Soto poses for photos during a press conference at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images / Brad Penner-Imagn Images
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It's no secret that the New York Yankees weren't the only AL East team that was pursuing superstar slugger Juan Soto in free agency this offseason before he decided to sign with the New York Mets.

In fact, three of the five "finalists" in the Soto sweepstakes hailed from the AL East: the Yankees, the Boston Red Sox, and the Toronto Blue Jays (with the Mets and Los Angeles Dodgers being the two non-AL East finalists).

However, a December 15 article from Mark Polishuk of MLBTradeRumors discussed a December 14 article from Mark Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times that reported how a fourth AL East team — the Tampa Bay Rays — also made Soto an offer; one that was unique to the rest.

"We saw evidence of this in early November when reports indicated that the Rays were one of the many teams who had been in contact with Juan Soto at the opening of the free agent market," Polishuk wrote.

"The check-in was perhaps largely but due diligence, but Topkin reports that 'the Rays pitched a short-term deal…supposedly with opt-outs after each season.'"

Polishuk continued by saying, "It is probably safe to assume that this offer didn’t gain much traction within Soto’s camp, but there was no harm in floating a unique offer Soto’s way to see if there was any interest."

The Rays offering Soto a shorter-term deal is fascinating and certainly makes sense given that they wouldn't be able to fork up the amount of money Soto ultimately commanded.

Props to the Rays for at least attempting to lure the 26-year-old to Tampa Bay.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers the New York Yankees, the New York Mets, and Women’s Basketball for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco, where he also played Division 1 baseball for five years. He believes Mark Teixeira should have been a first ballot MLB Hall of Fame inductee.

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