Scott Boras is known for three things: landing superstar baseball clients, always taking them to free agency instead of signing extensions, and generally keeping his clients in the free agent market deep into the offseason in search of the most possible money. The Washington Nationals know this all too well.
In somewhat of a stunning upset, it sounds like Juan Soto may be positioning to break that last trend. According to various reporters including ESPN's Jeff Passan, there's a high probability that we will know where Soto will be playing for the next decade by the time the Winter Meetings start next week.
Jeff Passan on Juan Soto:
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) December 5, 2024
"We know at this point that the final number is going to be at least $600 million... We could see a contract potentially in excess of $700 million."
"We will know (Soto's decision), at latest, by the time the Winter Meetings in Dallas start (Dec. 9)." pic.twitter.com/yKSPJ4q9nN
Time will tell whether Passan and others are correct about this timeline and the value of his next contract. Nonetheless, the widespread nature of this reporting suggests that a very lucrative resolution is on the horizon in the near future.
The contenders for Soto have been stated to be the New York Mets, New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Dodgers. This group shouldn't come as much of a surprise, as it's littered with teams who are frequently willing to spend large amounts of money. The least expected might be the Blue Jays, but it's worth keeping in mind that they were also finalists to sign Shohei Ohtani last offseason.
There are two teams not included in the list of finalists for Soto that stand out above the rest. The first is the Philadelphia Phillies, which should serve as a refreshing update. After all, the Phillies already have two top-dollar former Nationals on their payroll, and the top three batters in their lineup experienced some of their most success in Washington. They would've had to make room for them, perhaps by trading Nick Castellanos or Alec Bohm. Nonetheless, adding Soto to a list of star players that already includes Bryce Harper, Trea Turner and Kyle Schwarber among others would be difficult for Nationals fans to stomach.
Speaking of things that are tough to stomach, however, the Soto news is a perhaps sickening reminder of where the Nationals sit relative to the true contenders leaguewide. If there was ever a high-cost player Washington should be looking to sign, Soto might be that guy. This organization developed him, he won a World Series with them in his first full major league season, he loved his time with the team, and they're ready to take the next step towards playoff contention right now.
If that's not enough, Soto will be 26 years old for the entirety of next season. In that respect, he would be a seamless addition to a young core that is looking for a leader - and perhaps one who isn't old enough to be their father.
We can quibble over the fact that the Nationals have some young outfielders, led by James Wood and Dylan Crews. That's not enough to say no to Soto. Jacob Young and a group of minor league prospects can be moved on from via trade or used as supplemental pieces on the roster.
We can argue that signing Soto is too cost prohibitive. There might be some truth to that, and we've made this case before, but who else is the team spending significant financial capital on? Do we know for sure that signing multiple free agents like Alex Bregman, Anthony Santander and Christian Walker would return as much value as signing Soto alone?
As an aside, wouldn't Soto be a great asset if the recently proposed "Golden At-Bat" rule were to be implemented? As we discussed earlier this week, the Nationals don't have many particularly appealing candidates right now.
Maybe this is all a moot point. Maybe it was foolish for any Nationals fans to have ever gotten their hopes up. Maybe trading Soto to the San Diego Padres really was the organization saying goodbye to him forever.
If nothing else, we can all at least hope that Soto signs with a team we feel relatively indifferent towards. At least the Phillies don't appear to be in the running to sign him.
Which of the five finalists would you prefer to see him sign with? When will it happen, and how much will he sign for? Could a dark horse still swoop in? The District on Deck writers have shared our predictions, but you can also let me know what you think will happen @stephen_newman1 on X.