"Shohei Ohtani, Aaron Judge were exceptions" - MLB insider believes Juan Soto will not leave $50,000,000 on the table for Yankees

With Juan Soto being the hottest free agent right now, veteran MLB insider Jon Heyman believes the Dominican is unlike Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani when signing a contract.

Ohtani and Judge, the faces of the MLB, had opportunities to make more money during free agency. However, the duo accepted relatively lower deals for their current teams. In the case of Judge, he reportedly declined a higher deal with the Padres while Ohtani deferred a massive chunk of his Dodgers contract.

Heyman shared his thoughts on "The Mayors of Office with Sean Casey" on Wednesday when the Reds HOFer enquired whether Soto would choose the Yankees over the Mets if the former offered him $50,000,000 less than the Mets.

"I think we just went through two unusual situations where we had all-time great players, really, with (Aaron) Judge and (Shohei) Ohtani, who were not about the money. You know, not that interested in money," Heyman said (9:23)

The veteran insider hilariously pointed to the controversial incident of Ohtani's former interpreter stealing money from the Dodgers star as proof of his disinterest in money. He also mentioned Judge reportedly declining big offers from the Giants and the Padres.

"Most of these guys take the best deal, and there is nothing wrong with that. You've earned your way to free agency. I think Ohtani and Judge were the exceptions," Heyman said [9:48].

The insider asserted that 95 percent of baseballers won't leave money on the table, and Soto is among them.

"I think (Soto) will likely take the best deal. Certainly, if it’s a $5 million or $10 million difference, maybe not, but at that point, I think they’ll match. But $50 million? I don’t think he leaves $50 million on the table," Heyman said [9:56].

"I mean, I think Ohtani and Judge did, but I don’t believe that Soto, or 95% of the other star free agents, would leave $50 million on the table," Heyman added.

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Heyman believes Juan Soto will get more than $600 million

On Tuesday's episode of New York Post Sports' "The Show with Jon Heyman and Joel Sherman", the former explained why he believes Juan Soto will bag a $600 million-plus contract.

"I do think he (Juan Soto) will get over $600 million. We shall see.I think, obviously, he's not Ohtani. Ohtani is Babe Ruth. Ohtani is one of the greatest players of all time," Heyman said [10:43].

"The reason I think (Soto) is going to get that money, over $600 million, is twofold. One, he is younger. He’s over four years younger as a free agent than Ohtani, and that’s huge, right? Because you’re getting four great years. And two, he’s willing to go to the highest bidder, as far as we know," Heyman added.

The insider feels Shohei Ohtani limited himself to the Los Angeles area, but for Juan Soto, Heyman doesn't see any such limitations.