Philadelphia Phillies Never Met With Superstar Free Agent Juan Soto, Per Report

As Juan Soto seemingly zeroes in on his free agent decision, a report surfaced that the Philadelphia Phillies never met with the slugger or made him an offer.

Jul 29, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; New York Yankees outfielder Juan Soto (22) hits a two-RBI double against the Philadelphia Phillies during the fifth inning at Citizens Bank Park. | Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

While the baseball world holds its breath, waiting to see where Juan Soto lands, the Philadelphia Phillies apparently aren't among the teams getting their hopes up.

According to The Athletic's Matt Gelb, the Phillies have not made Soto a contract offer. Beyond that, the club never even met with the star free agent.

There were conflicting reports about the Phillies' interest in Soto from the start, and those have now been put to bed for good. Soto's publicly revealed suitors are the New York Yankees, New York Mets, Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Dodgers, and he is supposedly in the process of narrowing down his options.

Phillies never met with Juan Soto and are not among the teams who have made an offer to the star outfielder. More on the Soto sweepstakes in this @TheAthleticMLB story: https://t.co/xeyoXZ9yNZ

— Matt Gelb (@MattGelb) December 4, 2024

Adding Soto to a lineup that already boasted Bryce Harper, Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber, J.T. Realmuto, Nick Castellanos, Brandon Marsh, Alec Bohm and Bryson Stott would have given Philadelphia one of the most star-studded lineups in recent memory. Even if it was going to mark the end of either Castellanos or Marsh's time in Philadelphia, it would have been a worthy tradeoff considering the 26-year-old Soto hit .288 with 41 home runs, 109 RBI, a .989 OPS and a 7.9 WAR in 2024, finishing top-10 in MVP voting for the fifth time in six seasons.

But even though Soto is off the table for the Phillies, that doesn't mean the team will have a boring offseason.

Rumors surfaced last week that Philadelphia could trade Bohm and prospects to the Chicago White Sox in exchange for All-Star starting pitcher Garrett Crochet. The Phillies have also been tied to two-time World Series champion third baseman Alex Bregman, who is looking to ink a deal worth upwards of $200 million.

With Soto's asking price reportedly exceeding $600 million, the combination of Crochet and Bregman would be quite the consolation prize.

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