Insider believes Red Sox are among four teams who have made Juan Soto an offer in $700 million ‘ballpark’
The Mets, Yankees, and Blue Jays are the other teams who have reportedly made offers in the $700 million range.
The Juan Soto sweepstakes have approached a historic threshold and may have surpassed it.
The Red Sox, along with the Mets, Yankees, and Blue Jays, are believed to have made Soto an offer in the “ballpark” of $700 million, the New York Post‘s Jon Heyman reported.
“Some internet sleuth claimed that he told somebody [the Mets] offered $700 million for 15 years. I think it’s in the ballpark for all those four teams,” Heyman said in a stream for Bleacher Report. “I don’t think that’s a shocker. I think that’s where we are now.”
Earlier in the week, The Athletic‘s Ken Rosenthal reported that the Red Sox were among five teams to make Soto an offer worth at least $600 million. Late Thursday, a TikTok account that was believed to be the son of Mets manager Carlos Mendoza claimed that the team made Soto an offer worth $700 million over 15 years, which would’ve been higher than any other reported offer to this point.
As the Soto sweepstakes have heated up, though, some insiders have expected offers to approach and potentially pass the $700 million mark. That number is a major threshold for many reasons. Shohei Ohtani’s record 10-year contract with the Dodgers last offseason was worth exactly $700 million, so crossing that mark would give Soto the largest contract in North American sports history.
The length of Soto’s contract is expected to be longer than Ohtani’s. It’s “likely” that Soto will receive a 15-year deal, according to Heyman. Additionally, Heyman thinks that Soto will break Ohtani’s record unless he signs with the Dodgers, who he noted are a little bit behind in the chase for the star outfielder.
“I think he’s going to set a record, unless, by chance — at this point, the Dodgers are probably the long shot in this — by chance, he says ‘You know what? I’m not so interested in an extra $30, $40, $50, $60 million. It’s not a big deal to me, I want to go to the best team.’ So, they’re still in it as far as I know.”
Heyman also noted that the Red Sox, Mets, Yankees, and Blue Jays are on “equal ground” at this point in terms of their offers.
“I suspect all four teams are in that range of $700 million now,” Heyman said. “Some of them maybe a little bit over, some of them a little bit under.”
The Red Sox could be positioning to separate themselves from the pack. They’ve expressed interest in another meeting with Soto and his agent, Scott Boras, where they would find a price that would get a deal done, The Boston Globe‘s Alex Speier reported Thursday. It’s reportedly unknown if that wish has been granted.
Teams have continued to make last-minute offers to Soto as the sweepstakes are expected to end soon, according to Heyman.
“I think we’re looking at Saturday as a possibility, Sunday as a possibility,” Heyman said on when Soto could make his decision. “Monday, I’m not sure that it’s going to go to Monday at this point. I think we are getting fairly close to a resolution.”
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