With New York Yankees superstar Juan Soto’s free agency on the horizon, speculation about where the league’s top free agent will go this winter is picking up steam. Though it is widely expected that the Yankees and crosstown rival New York Mets will be the main bidders for the generational talent’s long-term services, there is another team out there that could stun the baseball world if they were to land him.
The Los Angeles Dodgers are considered a team that could sneak into the Soto sweepstakes
The New York Post’s Jon Heyman listed the odds for each team’s chances of signing Soto this offseason. He had the Yankees and Mets with the best chances while giving the Los Angeles Dodgers the third-best odds among a few other teams listed.
“Yankees even money,” Heyman said via Bleacher Report. “I’m sticking with the (New York Mets) at five-to-one, second choice. That doesn’t leave a lot of room for anybody else. Everybody else is considered a long shot in my book. I have the (Los Angeles Dodgers) at 15-to-1, the (San Francisco Giants) at 20-to-1, (the Toronto Blue Jays) at 25-to-1, and the (Philadelphia Phillies), (Boston Red Sox), (Chicago Cubs), and (Washington Nationals).”
The Dodgers have been known to sign many high-end free agents in recent years
The Dodgers have signed most of the league’s marquee free agents over the past few seasons, locking up Mookie Betts for the long haul after trading for him in 2020, signing Freddie Freeman following the 2021 season, and bringing in arguably the two best free agents last winter in Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto. While Los Angeles is a high-market team with lots of money to spend, it would still be a major surprise if they were able to land Soto.
They signed Ohtani to a contract worth $700 million last offseason, with $680 million of it given in deferred payments when the contract expires. Soto is only 25 years old and will likely receive a contract that will stretch beyond 12 or 13 years, so it would put a massive strain on the Dodgers’ financial capabilities if they were to add Soto to a roster that is already loaded with premier talent.
The Yankees need to bring back Soto this offseason
The Yankees cannot afford to lose Soto to another team in free agency. His first season in the Bronx has been the best of his pro career, as he has 37 home runs, 96 RBIs, and the second-highest OPS in baseball at 1.014 entering Saturday, trailing only his teammate Aaron Judge.
His contributions are a big reason why the Yankees have the best record in the American League and are in a great position to finally snap the 15-year title drought. Soto’s free agency will likely be an intense bidding war, but the Yankees must do all that they can to prevent being outbid by another team.
