Being the first through the door isn’t always best. At least symbolically, being first demonstrates an eagerness that others respect.
It’s likely that the Toronto Blue Jays, like every team courting Juan Soto, will need to show they have the financial resources to compete with baseball’s biggest spenders in the quest to sign the offseason’s biggest free agent. They certainly have the will.
According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, the first team to meet with Juan Soto and agent Scott Boras in person reportedly won’t be the New York Yankees or Mets, the favorites to sign the star slugger, but the Blue Jays.
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“Soto is starting to take meetings with teams this week in California, and the Toronto Blue Jays will be first, according to major league sources,” Passan wrote. “After trying to land Shohei Ohtani last winter, the Blue Jays are serious about adding a star alongside Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and have targeted Soto.”
Soto hit a career-high 41 home runs for the Yankees in 2024, helping lead the team to its first World Series appearance in 15 years. He is widely expected to command the most lucrative contract of any free agent this offseason — if not ever — after scoring an American League-leading 128 runs, driving in 109, and reaching base at a .419 clip in his first season in the Bronx.
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According to Passan, the Boston Red Sox have a meeting on the books with Soto this week. Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported that the Yankees’ meeting with Soto is next Monday.
Heyman also reports the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Francisco Giants and Boston Red Sox and two other “mystery” teams are believed to be planning to join the Jays, Mets and Yankees in visiting with the 26-year-old superstar starting this week. One of the two unknown teams is believed to be from a smaller market, Heyman wrote.
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The Blue Jays, Giants and Dodgers were the finalists a year ago to sign Shohei Ohtani, who ultimately agreed to a 10-year, $700 million pact with Los Angeles. The Dodgers’ outlay to Ohtani could impinge their ability to sign Soto. Passan reports they would only consider Soto “in the unlikely event his market softens.”
In theory, the Giants and Blue Jays could spend the money earmarked for Ohtani on Soto. Passan reports the Soto sweepstakes could reach a conclusion even before the Winter Meetings begin Dec. 8 in Dallas.
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