Toronto Blue Jays Get Bad News in Pursuit of Free Agent Juan Soto

The Blue Jays now have another team to contend with, as Soto has agreed to take a meeting with the World Champion Los Angeles Dodgers.

New York Yankees outfielder Juan Soto (22) celebrates after hitting a solo home run in the third inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers during game two of the 2024 MLB World Series at Dodger Stadium on Oct 26. | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Free agent superstar Juan Soto has agreed to take a meeting with the Los Angeles Dodgers, which spells bad news for the Toronto Blue Jays.

After initially hearing that Soto would meet with Toronto, the Red Sox, the Mets and the Yankees, the World Champions have been added to the list. He'll meet with them on Tuesday.

Alden Gonzalez of ESPN had the news:

Sources: The Dodgers are meeting with Juan Soto tomorrow, as @Feinsand first reported.

Yes, it’d be absurd of them to follow a billion-dollar offseason with a $600M contract. But Shohei Ohtani’s first year in LA blew away all their financial projections. And they need an OF.

Sources: The Dodgers are meeting with Juan Soto tomorrow, as @Feinsand first reported.

Yes, it’d be absurd of them to follow a billion-dollar offseason with a $600M contract. But Shohei Ohtani’s first year in LA blew away all their financial projections. And they need an OF.

— Alden González (@Alden_Gonzalez) November 19, 2024

First off, from Soto's perspective, the meeting makes perfect sense. The Dodgers just won the World Series and appear ready to win for years to come. Second, they have deep (and apparently deeper) pockets, as evidenced by last year's signings of Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto. For a player that is trying to break the record for the biggest contract, the Dodgers deserve at least a seat at the table.

Furthermore, if nothing else, the Dodgers presence at that table could help drive the price up on other teams.

As for the Blue Jays, this all spells bad news. Already a bit of a dark horse in the sweepstakes, another team to contend with is not ideal. Furthermore, if the Dodgers do drive the price up, the Blue Jays could be priced out of the bidding.

Soto hit .288 this past season with 41 homers and 109 RBI. He helped the Yankees advance to the World Series.

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