NEW YORK — Juan Soto appears on a timetable to decide on where to sign either before or during baseball’s winter meetings in Dallas, which run from Dec. 8-12.
Soto met with the New York Yankees, New York Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers, Boston Red Sox and Toronto Blue Jays, a person familiar with the negotiations said, speaking to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because details were not announced.
Soto’s agent, Scott Boras, asked teams to submit initial offers by Thanksgiving, a second person familiar with the talks said, also on condition of anonymity because it was not announced.
Soto is the top player available among this year’s free agents. A four-time All-Star, Soto finished third in AL MVP voting after hitting .288 with 41 homers, 109 RBIs and 129 walks. He has a .285 career average with 201 homers, 592 RBIs and 769 walks over seven major league seasons.
Soto turned down a 15-year, $440 million offer from Washington in 2022, prompting the Nationals to trade him to San Diego, which then dealt him to the Yankees last December. Soto then combined with Aaron Judge to lead New York to the World Series, where the Yankees lost to the Dodgers.
In his pitch to teams, Boras highlighted that Soto joined Mickey Mantle as the only players with seven RBIs in a World Series at age 21 or younger when he was with Washington, and at 20 became the youngest player with five postseason homers. Soto’s .906 postseason OPS through age 25 topped Mantle (.900) and Derek Jeter (.852).
How much money will Soto get?
Soto is likely to seek a record contract, topping Shohei Ohtani’s 10-year, $700 million agreement with the Los Angeles Dodgers last December. That might not mean Soto gets more than $700 million, though. Because Ohtani’s deal included $680 million in deferred money payable through 2043, it can be valued by different methods.
For instance, Ohtani’s contract is valued at $46.1 million per season ($461 million total) under MLB’s luxury tax system, which used a 4.43% discount rate. The players’ association uses a 5% rate, which puts Ohtani’s contract at $43.8 million per year. For MLB’s regular payroll calculations, a 10% discount rates values Ohtani’s deal at just $28.2 million.
Which means if Soto gets even $462 million without deferred payments, there’s an argument that his deal is the most valuable in MLB history.
By average annual value, pitchers Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander are tied for second in baseball history at $43.33…