Former San Diego Padres outfielder Juan Soto and his agent, Scott Boras, are reportedly meeting with the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday in Newport Beach. Marc Feinsand of MLB.com first reported the news. Soto, who played for the Padres from 2022-23, is one of the top free agents available this offseason and is meeting with multiple teams as he decides who to sign with.
Soto reportedly is expected to sign as large as a $700 million contract this offseason, a price that only Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani has signed for in MLB history. He has also met with the Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays, New York Yankees, and New York Mets. Boras recently shared that the Padres originally wanted to extend Soto long-term, and the team was in the middle of contract extensions with the superstar.
Those extensions stalled when late owner Peter Seidler grew more ill, and ultimately passed in Nov. 2023. According to Boras, Seidler would have never traded Soto.
After Seidler died, the Padres cut their payroll significantly and instead traded Soto and Trent Grisham to the New York Yankees in exchange for Michael King, Drew Thorpe, Jhony Brito, Randy Vásquez, and Kyle Higashioka.
Soto went on to have a career-year with the Yankees, slashing .288/.419/.569 with 166 hits, 128 runs, 41 home runs, and 166 RBIs as he helped the team reach the World Series. At just 26 years old, Soto is in the midst of his prime and a player teams could invest their future in.
Some reports have suggested that Soto wouldn't be likely to sign with the Dodgers because he prefers the East Coast over the West Coast. If the Dodgers do end up signing Soto, the Padres will then have to face him multiple times every season, and the Dodgers will get another edge in the rivalry between the two teams.
Soto originally joined the Padres in 2022, when he was traded to San Diego midseason from the Washington Nationals. Soto helped the Padres make the postseason that year and advance to the National League Championship Series after upsetting the Dodgers. The Padres lost that series to the Philadelphia Phillies.
Soto returned for the 2023 season, which was a disappointment as the Padres failed to make the postseason and Soto reportedly didn't fit in well with the team. Even so, Soto was on track to remain a Padre until Seidler's death.
