After Soto said that he would be checking in at every potential location, the Juan Soto sweepstakes started as a 30-team competition. Shortly after he made that assertion, however, this rapidly fell to fewer than ten teams. The field shrank to six teams as the offseason got underway; these were the teams that supposedly met with Soto: the Boston Red Sox, the Los Angeles Dodgers, the New York Yankees, the New York Mets, the Toronto Blue Jays, and the Philadelphia Phillies.
According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, the field has shrunk even more, to only four clubs. “There really are only four teams that are seriously in play for Soto: The Mets, the Yankees, the Toronto Blue Jays and the Boston Red Sox,” writes Nightengale.
He said the Phillies and Dodgers were never really that involved anyhow. Although it seems that the Phillies never had a formal meeting with the superstar, the Dodgers checked in with him simply because he was in California.
In any case, everyone anticipated that these four teams would be the Soto sweepstakes finals. Although I wouldn’t rule out the Red Sox or Blue Jays until they drop out themselves, everyone also believes that the Yankees and the Mets will win.
Soto’s price will only increase as a result of these massive markets’ intense pursuit of him. In the next weeks, I envision him signing a contract worth well over $600 million.