The Juan Soto sweepstakes will be the storyline of the MLB offseason.
Soto is the best free agent available and one of the best players in all of baseball. Several teams have shown interest in him, and many analysts expect him to sign with the New York Mets or re-sign with the New York Yankees.
However, The Wright Way Network predicts that Soto will stay in the American League but sign with the Houston Astros.
“The Houston Astros lost in the wild card to the Detroit Tigers, which is not the usual benchmark for the Houston Astros,” the article read. “The Astros jumped to the level of New York Yankees and Mets and the Los Angeles Dodgers as big spenders in the mid-2010s. With that came World Series Expectations. With those expectations falling very short, the logical response would be to sign the second-best player in the league, Juan Soto.
“The Houston Astros have the room to sign Juan Sot. It’s uncertain if he is going to return to the Yankees,” the article added. “The Astros have proven they are willing to pay and are able to win, unlike the Yankees. Juan Soto wants to win a World Series. Soto sat on the bench watching the celebration in his home ballpark, reeling it all in for next year. The Yankees have proven over and over, they will spend but they also will lose.”
Houston signing Soto would be a major surprise as they haven’t been linked to the outfielder. On DraftKings Sportsbook, the Astros are listed with the field at +900 which implies a 10% chance.
Last season, Soto hit .288 with 41 home runs and 109 RBIs in 157 games with the Yankees.
The Astros Would be World Series Contenders With Soto
If Houston can surprise many and sign Soto, they immediately would become World Series contenders.
The Astros lost in the first round of the playoffs this past season. The Wright Way Network believes if Houston signs Soto they will become favorites in the AL.
“The option no one is really talking about is the Astros, and this is exactly a move the Astros would do,” the article read. “The Astros need to do a soft rebuild and get a bit younger. Soto is young, can do it all, and add excitement to the team…
“The Astros need to be competitive in spending with the Dodgers and Yankees or baseball is going to get very boring with only 2 teams willing to spend big, and adding Soto would get the Astros right back on track to winning their next World Series,” the article added.
However, whether or not the Astros are in on Soto is uncertain.
Yankees Owner Sets Up Meeting With Soto’s Agent
New York will be doing everything in its power to retain Soto.
Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner is scheduled to visit Southern California to meet with Scott Boras, the agent of Soto, The New York Post reported. It’s uncertain what day the meeting will take place. But, MLB insider Jon Heyman of The Post says it will happen after the Mets meeting.
“The date for the sit-down was not immediately clear. But, more clear was the fact the Yankees were assured of a talk with Soto after the Mets talk with Soto,” Heyman reported.
Soto will get a long-term contract in free agency that is expected to be in the 600 million range.
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Juan Soto Predicted to Leave Yankees for Surprise AL Team