TL;DR - Scouting Report
Juan Soto signs with the Mets for 15 years, $765M, dashing Dodgers’ Winter Meetings hopes. LA now shifts focus to Teoscar Hernandez amid rising competition.
Start the Rally: Tweet This Now!Updated at 7:13 p.m. PT on December 8, 2024
Moments after publishing this post, Jon Heyman came online with the post many Dodger fans either were excited or unhappy to see: Juan Soto did not sign with the Dodgers.
The reported deal is indeed for Soto to stay in New York, but to switch teams and leagues over to the National League’s runners-up, the Mets, for 15-years/$765 million, or an estimated annual value of $51 million per season. Details will follow soon.
Next up for the Dodgers is more than likely a shift in focus in bringing back Teoscar Hernandez, though now the Yankees and Red Sox surely will not only be interested, but also drive up his price tag.
Stay tuned.
Original Post:
The Dodgers still have a sliver of hope to sign Juan Soto according to the latest update from the Winter Meetings courtesy of MLB Network and Jon Heyman on X.
Heyman says the Dodgers are “quite a bit behind as far as we know at this point”, and have presented Soto with their version of what hte super lineup would be like.
Heyman on the Dodgers’ chances to sign Soto, alongside four other teams’ chances:
“Well, we’re still waiting. We still have the five teams. We’re counting the Los Angeles Dodgers, but certainly Toronto, Boston and the two New York teams: the Yankees and the Mets; the incumbent Yankees. Feeling it out in the lobby, going and talking to people, the Yankees seem a little more confident than some of the other teams. Boston’s a little less confident. The Mets, kind of in the middle. Right now we do believe the Mets are somewhere in that $710-$730 million range, and the Yankees are perhaps just a little bit below them. I think the Yankees still have a little bit of an edge. A little bit of an edge having been a team with Juan Soto for the last year and they had a fantastic season, they got to the World Series thanks to him, a .989 OPS, 40-something home runs (41). He had a great year. He seemed to enjoy it terrificly, and I do think Aaron Judge plays in this pretty big as long as the Yankees are very close to the Mets and the other highest bidders, he loved batting in front of Aaron Judge, and he loved the clubhouse led by the captain, Judge.”
Heyman on the Dodgers’ proposed super lineup featuring Soto:
“I never want to rule anybody out at this point (the Dodgers and Blue Jays). I’ll say that they are wildcards at this point. I would say that if we’re going to give a favorite, we’re going to probably look at New York, one or the other. The Dodgers, I mean, I’m sure he would love to be a Dodger. In fact, when they had the meeting, I believe the Dodgers told him that the lineup would be Ohtani first, Soto second, Betts third, Freeman fourth. That’s something to think about, for a Juan Soto to be on a super team like that. He didn’t have to hear that to know they are a super team. So, if they get really close, and at this point we have not heard that they are – we know they’re over $600 million; but I don’t think they’re that close to $700 million. But if they get pretty close, I mean, they could be a major factor in this.”
Heyman on how the Dodgers can land Soto, if they want to sign him:
“I’m not 100 percent sure of that (the Mets offering the highest contract amount). I think the Blue Jays’ deep pockets as well are highly motivated. I would not be shocked if they offered the most money. I’ll be a little surprised if he doesn’t go to one of the New York teams at this moment. But you never know what could happen assuming the Dodgers have the wherewithal, a great team. The Blue Jays are motivated. The Red Sox on the come – they have a terrific farm system, a great manager. Fenway would be a great place for him to hit. So there are positives with every team, and probably a negative or two. The only negative with the Dodgers is they’re trailing by quite a bit in terms of the money. Now they have made a serious offer of over $600 million, but they’re quite a bit behind as far as we know at this point. If they catch up, I would not rule them out. So I’m not ruling anybody out at this point. But just from the lobby talk, I think people will be a little bit surprised if he’s not a New York player at the end of this.”
Soto, 26, is likely to sign for 15 years with whichever team he selects. As of writing, it does not appear that he is destined to sign with the Dodgers. But as Heyman insists in his update, anything can happen.
The Dodgers reportedly have a deal in place to sign OF Michael Conforto for one year at $17 million. This signing should be viewed more as an upgrade over Jason Heyward rather than a replacement for Soto or possibly Teoscar Hernandez.
Soto hit .288/.419/.569 with 41 HRs, 109 RBIs and seven SBs, scoring 128 runs in 157 games batting in front of Aaron Judge with the Yankees.
Your Turn: What would Juan Soto’s numbers look like hitting behind Shohei Ohtani and in front of Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman? How many wins would Soto add to the Dodgers in 2025? Tell us in the comments!
