Juan Soto has been the New York Yankees’ headline act this offseason. The Dominican slugger added some much-needed stardust that the Bronx Bombers yearned for after their disastrous 2023.
However, with Soto having only one season left on his contract, the focus has already shifted to next year. Following Shohei Ohtani’s record-breaking $700 million deal with the Dodgers, any club interested in going for Soto next offseason will need to break the bank.
If Soto can produce an MVP-caliber season, agent Scott Boras could make a case for his client to have MLB’s biggest contract. If that is the case, only a few clubs can afford to bid that kind of a number for Soto.
The Yankees are obviously one of them. Expect them to go as high as possible to extend Soto’s tenure in the Bronx. However, should Soto not extend, here are a few possible landing spots.
3 potential destinations for Juan Soto should he leave Yankees after 2024
3) San Francisco Giants
The Giants will enter a new era under Bob Melvin. They will spend 2024 rebuilding with the goal of having a postseason-caliber team by next season.
They fancied a move for Aaron Judge not long ago and are reportedly contemplating a move for Blake Snell. So the Giants certainly don’t lack the resources required to make a statement signing.
If a chance to sign Juan Soto arises, it is unlikely that the Giants won’t at least make an attempt.
2) Los Angeles Dodgers
When it comes to improving their squad, the Dodgers are relentless. Yes, they committed over a billion dollars this offseason to land Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, and more. But that doesn’t rule them out of making another headline acquisition next winter.
A lot will depend on how their season turns out. Expectations are sky-high, and anything less than a World Series win will be considered a failure by many, given the amount of money they have spent. If the Dodgers don’t meet those expectations, they may consider making a move for Juan Soto.
1) New York Mets
The Mets were willing to commit $325 million this winter to land Yoshinobu Yamamoto. There are very few teams in MLB who can afford to engage in a bidding war to sign Juan Soto, and the Steve Cohen-owned side are definitely one of them.
Per MLB insider Jon Heyman, the Mets will be back in the ‘spending mode’ next winter, when a substantial part of Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer’s contracts come off their books. The Mets may just be the Yankees' biggest threat in their attempts to extend Soto.
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