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Toronto Blue Jays Officially Miss Out on Superstar Free Agent Juan Soto

After apparently being a strong suitor for Soto, the Blue Jays have officially lost out to the New York Mets.
Brady Farkas|
New York Yankees outfielder Juan Soto (22) is introduced before playing against the Los Angeles Dodgers in game three of the 2024 MLB World Series at Yankee Stadium on Oct 28.
New York Yankees outfielder Juan Soto (22) is introduced before playing against the Los Angeles Dodgers in game three of the 2024 MLB World Series at Yankee Stadium on Oct 28. | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

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Toronto Blue Jays

On Sunday night, superstar free agent Juan Soto, for who this entire offseason has been built around, came to an agreement with the New York Mets.

Per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic:

Source confirms: Juan Soto in agreement with Mets on 15-year, $765M contract. Deal includes $75M signing bonus. First @JonHeyman

The deal is the largest in baseball history, surpassing the $700 million contract gotten by Shohei Ohtani last offseason. When the final details are revealed, it will be the the largest deal in terms of present value as well.

The Mets had been rumored to be the leaders in the Soto sweepstakes from the outset, but the Toronto Blue Jays gave a valiant effort, reportedly getting at or near the $700 million threshold.

In the wake of losing Soto, the Blue Jays will have to pivot. They've been linked to top free agents like Anthony Santander, Alex Bregman, Max Fried, Corbin Burnes and Teoscar Hernandez this offseason. They had been hoping to sign Soto so they could pair him with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in the middle of the order.

Soto is currently 26 years old, meaning this deal will take him into his early 40s. He's coming off a season in which he hit .288 with 41 homers and 109 RBI. He finished third in the American League MVP voting as the Yankees advanced all the way to the World Series.

The winter meetings officially begin on Monday and a Soto press conference figures to happen as part of the chaos.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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