Getty The Dodgers could be a bidder on Yankees star Juan Soto
The Dodgers, with a payroll that has swelled to $320 million for the purposes of MLB‘s competitive balance taxes, have the highest slate of salaries in all of baseball and, indeed, in the history of baseball.
Not only that, but the raft of future commitments for Los Angeles means that the Dodgers are looking at $1.4 billion in future commitments, too. With that in mind, what’s another $701 million for a guy like Juan Soto?
OK, that is getting ahead of ourselves. Soto has seemed very happy with the Yankees, and the Yankees are very happy with him, meaning that the marriage could very well survive the perils of Soto’s upcoming free agency (assuming the very unlikely possibility that he signs an in-season extension does not come to fruition).
But if there is bidding on Soto, one A.L. executive told MLB.com that the Dodgers will surely be involved.
Soto’s agent, Scott Boras, does not typically do in-season extensions. But that would be the case for Soto no matter his reps.
“A 25-year-old Juan Soto has to hit free agency regardless of the agent,” the AL exec said. “He’s too good a player having too of a good year. … There are teams out there capable of winning that have money. The Dodgers are out there. The Mets are out there. There aren’t many, but there are places he can land.”
Dodgers Would Have Unmatched Lineup
A 1-through-4 of Mookie Betts, Shohei Ohtani, Soto and Freddie Freeman hardly seems fair, and certainly, the point of MBL’s tax structure is to prevent a team from the Dodgers from putting together a lineup like that. But it’s not impossible, and on the financial side, at least, the Dodgers have shown they’re willing to test the limits of what is possible.
It’s unlikely Soto is eager to leave New York, but the Dodgers would have to be the biggest threat to the Yankees on that front.
Soto was acquired from the Padres in a blockbuster offseason trade and is having a solid first year in New York. His patience with his contract has been notable, and only adds to speculation that he will not accept an extension now. He passed on the “last-best” offer from the National remember, before they traded him to the Padres in 2022 and that offer was 15 years and $440 million.
This year, Soto has a .315/.416/.551 slash line for a Yankees team that has surged to the best record (33-16) in the A.L. Again, that only increases the chances Soto will wind up landing a record-setting contract.
Juan Soto’s Next Contract Could Be a Record-Breaker
How much of a record is a question worthy of debate.
In the offseason, contract guru Tim Britton of the Athletic went through a detailed breakdown of Soto’s potential package, and projected $250 million for the five years through Soto’s 30th birthday, and $32 million per year for the nine years thereafter.
“Add those two pieces together and you get a 14-year deal worth right around $540 million in free agency,” Britton wrote.
At Baseball America, though, they took a wilder stab. Britton acknowledged that Soto’s deal might depend on Ohtani’s deal, and that was before Ohtani signed with the Dodgers for the biggest-ever deal, $700 million.
Soto might look to break that record, even though he’s not a pitcher. That was a bold preseason prediction from the always-reputable Baseball America, which had 15 years and $701 million as Soto’s next deal—with the Yankees, not the Dodgers.
“Does this really count as a bold prediction, projecting Juan Soto will get the biggest contract in history?” the site noted. “Perhaps not, if you assume the Yankees do whatever it takes to keep him. However, Juan Soto is only a batter, and doesn’t pitch, so in any other situation, it would be unlikely he’d command as much as Shohei Ohtani.
“However, with a top-shelf talent like Soto, making history with the largest contract in history will be a key priority for Scott Boras.”