A pair of National League East division opponents have made their stance clear on pursuing Juan Soto.
The Philadelphia Phillies are out of the race to sign him, reportedly after never showing much interest despite many in the sport liking it.
On the other hand, the New York Mets have emerged as the clear frontrunners to sign Soto, per USA today.
The reason behind the confidence in an inter-city move for Soto is Mets owner Steve Cohen’s willingness not to be outbid for Soto.
The three other teams believed to be in the Soto sweepstakes, the incumbent New York Yankees, the Toronto Blue Jays and the Boston Red Sox, all have minor red flags that the Mets do not.
The teams pursuing Soto do not include the Los Angeles Dodgers, who just defeated Soto and the Yankees in the World Series.
Soto has yet to sign with his next team, but he will likely get a huge payday this offseason
Thanks to owner Steve Cohen, the Mets have emerged as clear frontrunners to land Soto
Soto has not commented publicly since the Game 5 loss in the World Series that handed the championship to Los Angeles.
After the match he talked about how great his time in New York was and how he was also open to all possibilities for his future.
Soto’s contract could last 10 years and be worth more than $600 million, similar to the mega-deal signed by Dodgers phenom Shohei Ohtani last season.
The Yankees are desperate to keep Soto, but reportedly have a limit on how much they can spend to keep No. 22 in pinstripes.
Toronto is seen as a dark horse in the lottery, as it was for Ohtani a year ago, because of the unknown money it would spend to bring Soto to Canada.
New contracts for already signed stars Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette seem to be an obstacle for Soto to become a Blue Jay.
The Red Sox have a lot of needs and the money to spend. Nor have they been very willing to spend the money in recent years.
If this really is the foursome left in the Soto Stakes, he will either remain a Yankee or move to a team with which they share a division or city.