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The Juan Soto free-agency derby is officially underway, and his decision is set to have major ramifications across the sport.
Soto’s impending free agency has been highly anticipated all year, becoming a major storyline during both the All-Star Game and the World Series. The moment has now arrived, and the 26-year-old Soto began receiving calls from nearly a dozen teams within hours of the Dodgers completing a five-game World Series win over Soto’s Yankees.
With a deal almost certain to exceed $600 million, Soto is now in line to reap the second-largest player contract in U.S. pro team sports history, trailing only the 10-year, $700 million agreement between the Dodgers and Shohei Ohtani. Depending on the level of deferrals involved, Soto could smash Ohtani’s contract in present-day value.
Soto, like all other MLB free-agent players, will be eligible to sign with a new team beginning Monday at 5 p.m. ET.
“I’m going to be available for all 30 teams,” Soto said after the Dodgers clinched their World Series win. “I don’t want to say anybody has any advantage because at the end of the day, we’re going to look at what they have and how much they want me.”
Soto is represented by baseball mega-agent Scott Boras, long known for working with many of baseball’s biggest stars and commanding top-dollar deals. But Soto’s youth—he just turned 26—and his Hall of Fame-caliber trajectory on the field make him a particularly unique free agent, even among other stars to hit the market recently such as Ohtani.
Limited Suitors
Despite Soto’s comments, and the fact that several teams have conveyed their initial interest, only a select few actually have the financial ability to take on a contract of this size. That group includes the Dodgers, Yankees, and Mets, and perhaps a few others such as the Phillies, Cubs, and Blue Jays.
All of these clubs have ownership stakes in their regional sports networks and have been comparatively insulated from the ongoing turbulence in that part of the television industry. None of those teams are connected to the Diamond Sports Group bankruptcy, either.
Ripple Effect?
Soto has frequently spoken well of his one year in pinstripes, a season that brought the Yankees their first World Series berth in 15 years. But some of that consideration could rest on what the team does with ace pitcher Gerrit Cole, who opted out of the final four seasons and $144 million on his existing contract with New York.
The Yankees can eliminate that opt-out by adding on a fifth year and $36 million to Cole’s deal by Monday at 5 p.m., when full free agency opens. Keeping Cole, last year’s American League Cy Young Award winner, would help convey a continued commitment to winning, something Soto has said is important to him.
