Juan Soto, 26, the biggest name in free agency, is expected to stay in New York. However, his team could change.
MLB.com, the official site of Major League Baseball, revealed the projected destinations of 12 free agents on Monday, saying that “52 experts were asked to vote on which team each free agent would end up with.” The first player mentioned was Soto, who is arguably the biggest name in free agency.
Soto is a superstar in the majors with a career batting average of .285 (3280-for-934), 201 home runs, 592 RBI, 655 runs scored, 57 doubles, and a .953 OPS in 936 games. This year, he was traded to the Yankees, where he batted .288 (166-for-576) with 41 home runs, 109 RBIs, 128 runs scored, seven doubles, and a .989 OPS in 157 games as they finished as World Series runners-up.
Soto, who becomes a free agent after the season, will be the center of attention to see if he can top the 10-year, $700 million contract Shohei Ohtani signed last December. While the nominal value is unlikely to surpass Ohtani’s, he has the potential to surpass the actual value of his contract ($460 million), which is mostly deferred payments.
Many teams have been in contact with Soto, but the Mets are the most interested, as are the Yankees and their local rivals.
According to a poll of MLB.com experts, the Yankees are the favorite (52%) and the Mets are second (40%). Combined, they received 92% of the vote. Toronto, the Dodgers, 카지노사이트 San Francisco, and Washington tied for second place with 2% of the vote.
MLB.com writes, “Most experts believe Soto will land somewhere in New York. But it’s not a given that it will be the Yankees. The Bronx Bombers were still the top vote-getter, but 40 percent of experts think Soto will head across the city to Queens.”
“Soto had an incredible rookie season with the Yankees, batting .288 with a career-high 41 homers, 109 RBIs, 129 walks and an OPS of .989,” marveled MLB.com, ”He went on to establish himself as one of the best hitters of his generation with 201 homers and a .421 on-base percentage over seven years. Only Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, Rogers Hornsby, Lou Gehrig, Jimmy Foxx, Mickey Mantle, and Barry Bonds have ever hit 200 or more home runs and slugged .421 or better at the same time in major league history.”
Soto’s biggest strength is his youth. Soto made his big league debut at the age of 19 and will turn 26 this year. Next year, he’ll still be 26 during the regular season. MLB.com also emphasized Soto’s youth, stating, “He just turned 26 in October.”
It will be interesting to see if Soto can follow in the footsteps of Ohtani last year and sign another historic contract.