Was there an FA like this? Soto sits still and negotiates the relay, and the owners come to visit on their own… Next is LAD

With the New York Yankees just completing the first round of negotiations with FA Juan Soto, the Los Angeles Dodgers will also set up a table soon.

Soto reportedly met with the Yankees’ leadership with his agent Scott Boras near Newport Beach, California, where Boras Corporation is located on the 19th (Korea Standard Time).

With the deal, Soto has concluded the first round of negotiations with the Yankees, starting with the Boston Red Sox, the Toronto Blue Jays, and the New York Mets. The Dodgers will be next. MLB.com reported that the Dodgers is considered the next team to sit with Soto. Negotiations are expected to take place as early as tomorrow (local Tuesday).

“As we all know, Boras is famous for leading the FA at snail’s pace,” an NL official told MLB.com . “However, such slowness does not happen for a superstar like Soto,” adding, “It would be a surprise if Soto is not signed before leaving Dallas (where the Winter meeting will take place).”

This means that Soto’s destination will be decided during the Major League’s winter meeting to be held in Dallas, Texas from Dec. 10-13. In fact, the speed of negotiations among the players in the Boras division varies widely. While contracts are often finalized before the end of the winter meeting, there are also many cases where final negotiations are held during the spring training period next year.

In December 2019, Boras signed the contracts of Gerrit Cole, Steven Strasburg and Anthony Rendon, who were the top-class FA at the time, during the winter meeting. Cole wore a Yankees uniform for nine years and $324 million, while Strasburg and Rendon settled in the Washington Nationals and Los Angeles Angels, respectively, on the condition of seven years and $245 million. On the other hand, Bryce Harper, the biggest fish at the time, who was on the FA market a year ago in the winter of 2018, concluded negotiations with the Philadelphia Phillies for $330 million for 13 years during the spring training in early March of the following year.

In the case of Soto, it is expected that the conclusion will be made early because most of the big market clubs are making offers. Spanish-language media Deportivo Z101 Hector Gomes quoted Carlos Baerga, a star major leaguer, as saying that the Mets offered $660 million in 1990, but some say that it is not reliable news because the source is uncertain.

What is certain is that all the clubs, including owners, presidents, general managers, and even managers, have visited where Soto is staying and are putting all their efforts into it. What Soto wants is not only the money but also the conviction of his winning power.

An AL official told 토토사이트.com , “Soto will stay with a team for at least 10 years, and even if there is an opt-out clause, it will be the next four to five years. He will receive a lot of money no matter which club he goes to, and if he is a team with a high chance of winning, he will be able to appeal great discrimination.”

However, there was also news that a team that was veiled had made a huge offer to Soto. MLB.com said, “According to one source, Soto has met and talked with a team that has never been reported. This mysterious team has entered the scramble,” adding, “According to multiple sources, other teams that may have met with Soto include the Giants, Phillies, and Rays. Tampa Bay said it is unlikely that its home stadium will be damaged by the hurricane and will be played at Steinbrenner Field, a Yankees facility in Tampa, Florida, next year.” This means that San Francisco or Philadelphia could be a mysterious team.

“After all, it’s either the Yankees or the Mets. I know the Yankees well, and Steve Cohen, the Mets’ club, can give Soto as much money as he wants if he has the will. It’s very hard to predict that Soto will sign a contract with another club,” an AL team source said.