The Los Angeles Dodgers just won their second World Series title since 2020. It was mostly made possible by spending more than $1 billion last offseason to acquire Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and others. As they reload for 2025, should they make a serious run at Juan Soto to fortify an offense already among the best in baseball?
Soto has been busy listening to pitches from teams interested in signing him to a lucrative multi-year deal. The Boston Red Sox and Toronto Blue Jays have both made “impressive” presentations. Meanwhile, the New York Mets have reportedly made an initial $660 million offer to the five-time Silver Slugger winner.
After Mookie Betts returned from the injured list in August, Los Angeles switched his primary position from shortstop to right field. However, the decision has already been made for Betts to return to the infield in 2025. That opens the possibility of the Dodgers courting Soto via free agency.
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FanSided’s Jacob Mountz thinks Los Angeles is better off avoiding him, though. He noted that ESPN’s Jeff Passan said the Dodgers would “gladly consider him in the unlikely event his market softens.”
“The immediate result of Soto’s signing would potentially mean multiple championships for the Dodgers in the coming years,” Mountz said. “But the long-term consequences, since Soto would likely be a Dodger for 10-11 years, might be a close to $700 million outfielder who can no longer field a position and is blocked from the DH spot.”
That makes sense. But still, nobody knows how things will shake out for Soto’s free agency, especially as he listens to interested teams give their initial sales pitches. The mere thought of having the left-handed slugger join Betts, Ohtani and Freddie Freeman at the top of Los Angeles’ lineup would be frightening for opposing pitchers.
Soto heading to Hollywood does seem unlikely at this point. But we learned last year the Dodgers shouldn’t be counted out on a specific player until a deal is officially complete.
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