- MLB. Juan Soto's big announcement takes baseball by surprise amid Shohei Ohtani and Dodgers links
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The New York Yankees are hoping to re-sign Juan Soto. The Los Angeles Dodgers have him as a priority target this winter as they look to build a World Series dynasty. But what does Soto want out of his free agency?
That's the big question as Soto and super-agent Scott Boras navigate the market -- likely the first and last time Soto, a four-time All-Star at 26 years old, hits the open market for all 30 MLB clubs to sign. Soto, fresh off leading the Yankees to their first American League pennant since 2009, will command a large contract in both salary and term that is expected to challenge the Dodgers' deal for Shohei Ohtani last winter. But who knows where Soto will sign, and what the dollar amount will be?
Soto is keeping his cards close to his chest
According to Andy Martino of SNY, both the Yankees and the New York Mets are "all-in" on g Soto, who is the seventh-youngest player in MLB history to swat 200 home runs. However, an AL East rival of the Yankees -- one year after missing out on Ohtani -- is reportedly intent on making the highest offer to Soto.
The Toronto Blue Jays, often spurned by star talent, might well make Soto the most attractive offer financially, one that will surely run longer than Ohtani's 10-year contract in Los Angeles and approach the $700 million figure that the Dodgers offered the now three-time MVP. Most observers around baseball expect Soto to win MVP awards of his own in the years to come -- but there is doubt that he will do so in Toronto.
That doubt though is not limited only to Toronto. Teams around baseball are on edge as Soto takes his time to come to a decision, mulling things over with Boras and with his family. After a season in which Soto set a new career high with 41 home runs, he has all the cards -- and all the leverage -- to determine where his playing future lies after trades to San Diego and New York over the past two years.
"I don't think anyone knows where Juan wants to play except for Juan and Boras, and maybe Juan's family," a source claimed to Martino.