Juan Soto.
EL NUEVO DIARIO, NEW YORK.- The fight for Juan Soto’s services is intensifying. A source told MLB Network’s Jon Paul Morosi that five teams have made offers to the Dominican superstar, confirming an earlier report by NJ.com’s Randy Miller.
According to Morosi, the five teams are the Mets, Red Sox, Blue Jays, Dodgers and Yankees.
Soto had spoken in person with managers from each of those five teams, although it is believed that these meetings were simply to introduce himself, with no offers on the table at that time.
As for the offers, the details are unknown, but Soto is expected to receive one of the largest contracts in Major League history.
Soto represents something rarely seen in free agency. He is on the market at a younger age than the typical free agent. He turned 26 on October 25.
The left-handed slugger, who debuted in the Majors in 2018 at age 19, is on a path to the Hall of Fame. He is one of seven players in MLB history with at least 200 home runs and an OPS+ of 150 or more through his age 25 season, joining Jimmie Foxx, Mickey Mantle, Eddie Mathews, Mel Ott, Albert Pujols and Mike Trout. .
Soto is coming off one of his best campaigns in 2024, with a .288 average, 41 home runs, 109 RBIs, 128 runs scored, 129 walks, .989 OPS and 178 OPS+ in 157 games for the Yankees, who acquired him from the Padres in a trade last December. That performance earned him third place in American League Most Valuable Player voting, behind Bobby Witt Jr. and his New York teammate, winner Aaron Judge.
In the postseason, Soto added a 1.102 OPS with four homers, including the decisive homer in Game 5 of the American League Championship Series against the Guardians. That hit propelled the Yankees to their first World Series since 2009.
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