It was said long before All-Star outfielder Juan Soto enjoyed a career season ahead of reaching free agency this fall that he “wants to win” but would also want to reset the market for position players.
Big-name agent Scott Boras, who represents Soto, spoke with reporters at the GM meetings on Wednesday and sent a message to team owners on Soto’s behalf.
“He wants ownership that’s going to support that they are going to win annually,” Boras said about Soto, as shared by Jesse Rogers of ESPN. “Owners want to meet with Juan and sit down and talk with him about what they’re going to provide for their franchise short term and long term.”
It was reported as recently as Tuesday that it would be an “absolute bombshell” development if Soto picks a team other than the New York Yankees or New York Mets in free agency. While the Yankees are seen as “the front-runners” to win the Soto sweepstakes largely because he enjoyed being with the club this past season, numerous industry insiders have noted that Mets owner Steve Cohen can outbid the Yankees’ Hal Steinbrenner for any one talent.
Back in December 2022, Boras said that baseball needs “Goliaths” willing to assemble MLB’s most-expensive rosters yearly, such as Cohen. Meanwhile, Steinbrenner mentioned this past spring that his club’s payroll was “not sustainable” long-term due to luxury-tax penalties. Of course, that was before Soto helped the Yankees complete a trip to the World Series.
A story from last week indicated that Soto “is fully prepared” to wait “until the middle or end of spring training in March” to receive the contract he wants. Multiple reporters have speculated that at least $700M could be attached to the 26-year-old’s next deal.
“Due to the volume of interest and Juan’s desire to hear (from teams), I can’t put a timeframe on it, but it’s going to be a very thorough process for him,” Boras acknowledged about Soto’s free-agency journey. “He wants to meet people personally. He wants to talk with them. He wants to hear from them.”
If nothing else, it appears other ownership groups will have opportunities to prove they’re willing to spend whatever Soto wants to make him happy and build a sustainable winner around him unless either Cohen or Steinbrenner blows the slugger away with a so-called “‘Godfather’ offer” as soon as this week.
