Throughout last week, numerous MLB reporters and analysts explained why they believed New York Mets owner Steve Cohen would outbid New York Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner and all other would-be buyers to win the services of Juan Soto in free agency.
It appears other noteworthy members of the baseball community share that opinion ahead of Thanksgiving. MLB insider Bob Nightengale of USA Today shared the view of MLB execs in a piece published Monday morning.
“The Mets are the clear-cut favorite, executives say, simply because they don’t believe there’s a soul who will outbid owner Steve Cohen, while [the] Yankees have a price in mind that they don’t want to exceed.”
While Steinbrenner has touched upon his concerns regarding luxury-tax penalties on multiple occasions, it’s believed Cohen “is willing to go $50M over whatever anybody offers” to bring Soto to the Mets. According to Nightengale, the Mets, Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays and Boston Red Sox are the only teams “that are seriously in play for Soto.” While some had mentioned the Philadelphia Phillies as a potential landing spot for the All-Star outfielder, Nightengale shared that the Phillies “haven’t had a single conversation with [agent Scott Boras] to express interest in Soto.”
“The Blue Jays could be the sleeper,” Nightengale said, “but with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette eligible for free agency in a year, Toronto would have to dramatically beat the Mets’ offer to have a prayer.”
It has been said that Soto prefers to stay on the East Coast but also wants to win. In his first year as Mets president of baseball operations, David Stearns failed to make what would be considered a big-name acquisition but nevertheless assembled a roster that got hot in the summer and made the National League Championship Series. Cohen is now expected to splash all kinds of cash in an attempt to get the Mets over the hump in 2025.
ESPN’s Buster Olney reported on Sunday that “sources involved in the Juan Soto talks expect the teams will begin forwarding offers this week.” One wonders if Cohen will declare with his first offer that there will be no real bidding war for Soto before the 26-year-old announces his decision.