Unimaginable! Soto 'Real Ransom'Otani Exceeded, 'All Clubs Bet Over $600 Million' U.S. Media'

Dec 04, 2024

It has been confirmed that Juan Soto's ransom has exceeded $600 million. AFP Yonhap News

Blake Snell and agent Scott Boras attend a joining press conference at Dodger Stadium on the 4th (Korea time) for an interview. AFP Yonhap News

The FA Juan Soto scramble is nearing the end.

Soto, who has been offered the terms of the contract since last week, seems to have begun the process of evaluating and inferring candidate clubs in earnest.

Local media outlet The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal reported on the 4th (Korea time) that the bid price for Juan Soto reached $600 million. In an article titled `The work to filter out the club has begun,' he reported that the bid for Juan Soto exceeded $600 million, according to two officials in an officially unspeakable position.

Soto's agent Scott Boras attended Blake Snell's press conference to join the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium and interviewed local media, saying `Soto has entered the process of thinning out candidate clubs. I can't say what kind of club it is."

The clubs that have offered Soto are the New York Yankees, the New York Mets, the Boston Red Sox, the Toronto Blue Jays, and the Los Angeles Dodgers, according to local media so far. In other words, all five clubs offered more than $600 million to Soto.

As a result, the prevailing observation is that Soto will make a final decision before the upcoming 10th-13th, when the Major League Winter Meeting will be held.

Juan Soto and agent Scott Boras. AP Yonhap News

But Boras "If you look at the process now, Soto is in a position to organize a lot of information. I had meetings with many clubs. Now the process of selecting candidate clubs has begun. Soto is a very meticulous style. I have to watch, too. However, it is unlikely that a conclusion will be made immediately in the near future.

If all clubs offered more than $600 million, it is expected that Shohei Ohtani's 10-year contract with the Dodgers in December last year could exceed $700 million.

Reporter Rosenthal said, `The reason Soto is likely to sign a historic contract is that he is now 26 years old, young, and has an attack that rarely comes out once in a generation.' The contract period is at least 12 years and it could break Ohtani's record by present-value. Ohtani said the actual value will be reduced to $460 million based on the luxury tax and $438 million based on the ML players' union calculation because the deferred payment money is 97% of the total amount.

Initially, the Mets were selected as the most likely club to recruit Soto. This is because Major League officials expect Stephen Cohen, the richest owner, to offer more money than any other club. However, it is reported that the original Yankees desperately tried to catch Soto, and Boston was reportedly engaged in negotiations and offered no less conditions than other clubs. In the case of Toronto, rumors were circulating that it had written down the largest amount of money among its competitors.

"Players on the market have to consider a lot of things," Boras said. There are big market clubs, and there are players representing the times", emphasizing the absolute value of Soto.

Soto, who was traded to the Yankees last winter, played 157 games this season with a batting average of 0.288 (166 hits in 576 at-bats), 41 home runs, 109 RBIs, 128 runs, 129 walks, an on-base percentage of 0.419, a slugging percentage of 0.569, an OPS of 0.989, and 328 hits. Soto, who spent his career high season, ranked third in AL MVP voting and also won the Silver Slugger Outfielder category.