Juan Soto reportedly being offered over $600 million

NEW YORK: Media reports suggest that Juan Soto is being offered over $600 million dollars as the bidding war for the 26-year old right fielder intensifies.

Juan Soto was a key part of the New York Yankees run to the world series this last season, as the four-time all-star and five-time silver slugger hit an incredible career high 41 home runs, the fourth most in Major League Baseball (MLB). He also had an incredible WAR of 7.9, placing him at sixth among all players.

However, when Walker Buehler delivered the last pitch of the World Series, Soto became a free agent. Now, teams are compiling as much money as they can in order to persuade the superstar to join them. Sportskeeda reported that the three major players in the bidding war are the New York Yankees, the New York Mets, and the Boston Red Sox.

The Score added the Toronto Blue Jays to the mix as well. SNY correspondent Andy Martino claims that there is “widespread belief among bidders that Toronto will come in with the highest offer. However, Jays fans may be slow to believe such claims due to their previous trauma inflicted by Shohei Ohtani. The day before signed with the Dodgers, media reports suggested that the Japanese player was on route to Toronto in a private jet, raising fans hopes sky high, only to drop them off a cliff when it was reported to be false.

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Speaking of Ohtani, YES Network analyst Jack Curry believes that the offer made by the Yankees would make Soto the highest value player in the league annually, surpassing the Japanese superstar’s $46 million annual value. However, NJ Advance Media correspondent Randy Miller clarified that Soto would prefer a contract that doesn’t defer his earnings.

The Los Angeles Dodgers record signing of Ohtani for $700 million in December of 2023 was met with controversy due to the fact that the team will only pay Ohtani $2 million per year for the next ten years, with the remaining $680 million being paid between 2034 and 2043. Thus the MLB considers the contract as equivalent to a non-deferred 10-year, $460 million contract, which is why Ohtani is considered to have an average annual value of $46 million.

Regardless of where Soto goes, the 2019 World Series champion will be hundreds of millions of dollars richer, and will continue to be a dominant force in the league

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