Colorado Rockies Owner Dick Monfort Responds to Email About Free Agent Juan Soto

Juan Soto's asking price exceeding $600 million surely rules the Colorado Rockies out as a possible destination, but the team's owner gave a different reason as to why the slugger wouldn't be coming to Denver.

Oct 28, 2024; New York, New York, USA; New York Yankees outfielder Juan Soto (22) reacts after grounding out during the third inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 3 of the 2024 MLB World Series at Yankee Stadium. | Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images

The Colorado Rockies are not on the list of teams known to be pursuing superstar free agent Juan Soto, but that didn't stop one fan from pleading his case to ownership.

RotoBaller's Kevin Larson, a self-described Denver sports fan, sent an email to Rockies owner and CEO Dick Monfort on Thursday, asking if there was any chance Colorado could sign Soto. Eight minutes later, Monfort responded.

"He has said publicly he wants to stay on East Coast," Monfort wrote.

Monfort, who has an extensive history of emailing fans, then signed off with the default "Sent from my iPhone" signature.

Notably, Monfort did not address Larson's comment about Soto reportedly seeking a 14 or 15-year contract with an average annual value of $43 million. That potential $600 million deal would rival Monfort's own net worth, which is estimated to be around $700 million.

I can confirm that the Colorado Rockies are indeed OUT in regards to the Juan Soto chase, but not for the reasons you'd expect pic.twitter.com/LdMzGTJV4c

— Kevin (Only Bo Nix can save us now) (@_Kevlar23_) December 5, 2024

In July 2023, Larson emailed Monfort about trading for Shohei Ohtani. Monfort replied to that as well, admitting that while Ohtani was set to become a free agent at the end of the season, it "would be fun for a couple of months."

While Monfort and the Rockies have been criticized for skimping on payroll in recent years, they have actually handed out their fair share of big-time contracts. They signed third baseman Nolan Arenado to an eight-year, $260 million extension in 2019 before bringing in former NL MVP winner Kris Bryant on a seven-year, $182 million deal in 2022.

Soto is expected to shatter those figures when he puts pen to paper this winter. Even if his gross number doesn't reach Ohtani's $700 million, it could surpass its $460 million present day value thanks to all of Ohtani's deferrals.

As a 26-year-old with four All-Star appearances and five Silver Sluggers under his belt, there aren't many detractors to Soto landing that kind of contract. This past season with the New York Yankees, Soto hit .288 with 41 home runs, 109 RBI a .989 OPS and a 7.9 WAR. He also put up MVP-caliber seasons with the San Diego Padres and Washington Nationals, on top of winning a World Series ring back in 2019.

The five teams known to have met with Soto are the Yankees, New York Mets, Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Dodgers, who apparently weren't scared off by the outfielder's supposed East Coast bias the way Monfort was.

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