Dodgers on Very Short List of Possible Juan Soto Landing Spots: Report

Noah Camras | May 21, 2024

May 18, 2024; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees right fielder Juan Soto (22) flips his bat after hitting a solo home run against the Chicago White Sox during the fifth inning at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports / Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

The Los Angeles Dodgers can't possibly sign Juan Soto, right?

Well, it can't be ruled out, says one American League executive.

On Tuesday, MLB.com's Mark Feinsand wrote a story about Soto's upcoming free agency in which he interviewed anonymous MLB executives. One executive listed the Dodgers on a short list of potential teams vying with the New York Yankees for his services.

“There are teams out there capable of winning that have money,” the AL executive said to Feinsand. “The Dodgers are out there. The Mets are out there. There aren’t many, but there are places he can land.”

The Dodgers are coming off a billion dollar offseason in which they signed Shohei Ohtani to a record-breaking $700 million deal and Yoshinobu Yamamoto to a $325 million deal, the most for a pitcher in MLB history. And yet, at least one executive believes they could be in the mix again next offseason when one of baseball's greatest players hits the open market.

Soto, 25, is on a Hall of Fame trajectory through the first six-plus years of his career. The three-time All-Star and one-time World Series champion has found himself on lists with some of the MLB's greats, and seems to only be getting better.

This season, through 49 games, Soto is slashing .316/.415/.551 with 11 home runs, 37 RBIs, and 33 walks. He's led the league in walks in three different seasons and finished as high as second in MVP voting in 2021.

Soto is a client of Scott Boras, and Boras usually takes his clients to free agency. Soto, at 25 years old, is in position to secure the largest contract in MLB history for a non-two-way player.

Would the Dodgers, with large contracts handed out to the likes of Ohtani, Yamamoto, and Mookie Betts, be willing to spend another potentially $500 million to bring in Soto?

The answer is probably not. But with only a few teams capable of even spending that kind of money, the Dodgers will be in the mix for Soto this offseason until they say otherwise.