It is reported that the Los Angeles Dodgers are missing in the fierce competition for FA Juan Soto.
USA Today reporter Bob Nightingale reported on the 27th (Korea time), “The owners and general managers are confident that Soto will sign a megaton-class contract before the winter meeting ends,” adding, “The four teams that seriously entered the Soto scramble are the New York Mets, the New York Yankees, the Toronto Blue Jays, and the Boston Red Sox.”
It is noteworthy that the Los Angeles Dodgers, who are known to have recently met with Soto, have not been mentioned. All four teams belong to the Eastern District.
On the previous day, MLB Network reporter John Heyman said, “Five teams, including the Yankees, Mets, Toronto and Boston, submitted contract terms to Soto,” and fan media Dodgers Nation interpreted, “It is not known exactly how interested the Dodgers are in Soto, but it means that it is serious to offer him,” which means the Dodgers may not be “sincere.”
“The Dodgers won the World Series without Soto. It is not that inconvenient to meet Soto and his agent Scott Boras through the traffic jam in the city center. The meeting will probably increase Soto’s ransom, and more importantly, the Dodgers will feel more pressure to renew the contract with Teoscar Hernandez,” said Nightingale.
Soto negotiated with big market clubs last week in Newport Beach, southern California, where Borasco-Pacation is located. This means that unlike clubs in the eastern part of the country who have to come by plane, the Dodgers were a place where they could meet quickly if they moved by car. In the end, the Nightingale reporter reported that they only met to find out Soto’s intention, but they did not really intend to spend a large amount of money.
The reporter then said, “It was expected that the Philadelphia Phillies would also jump into the race to recruit Soto, but they have never had a single conversation with Boras to express their interest in Soto.” In other words, they did not meet with Philadelphia.
Philadelphia won the National League East this year and reached the postseason, but was eliminated after being caught by the New York Mets in the Division Series, the first gateway. Judging that a batter who will double with Bryce Harper was needed, there was a prospect that owner John Middleton could participate in the recruitment of Soto, but he did not seem to have actually moved.
Soto’s FA negotiation tour is speeding up because these clubs are actively offering. After the World Series, Soto expressed his intention to make a decision over time, saying, “I will listen to all 30 teams’ proposals,” but it is observed that a rough decision was made after all the prestigious clubs who showed interest after the FA market opened were called to Newport Beach for relay negotiations. 메이저사이트
Still, the most likely teams to recruit Soto are the Yankees and the Mets, who belong to the original team. However, Nightingale said, “High-ranking officials say the Mets are the most likely destination. The reason is simple. No one wants to bet more than Mets owner Steve Cohen. Even the Yankees have a price they don’t want to surpass,” predicting his move to the Mets.
Regarding Toronto, the reporter said, “Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bob Bissett will become FA a year later. If Toronto wants to beat the Mets, it will have to invest a lot.” This means that he has to think about his future with Guerrero Jr. and Bissett.
Boston, which has not made it to the postseason for the last three consecutive years and is planning to strengthen its power this winter, is believed to have other customers of Boras in mind. In other words, it was more intent on finding out the minds of the top FA starters Corbin Burns and Blake Snell, which Boras owns, rather than recruiting Soto. “Boston has notified agents of its desire to sign a top-class FA pitcher,” Nightingale said. “At least, it will desperately try to sign one of the left-handers Max Fried and Snell.”
In the end, journalist Nightingale interprets that the Dodgers and Philadelphia have spread rumors of Soto being recruited once. Spending at least $600 million, which is expected to be a ransom for Soto, is not that easy unless it is a “must-have situation.”
