Blue Jays have made contact with superstar free agent Juan Soto's camp: report
The Toronto Blue Jays might be striking out on another big-name free agent, but at least they’re appearing to take a real big swing.
According to the New York Post’s Jon Heyman, the Jays are one of seven teams that have officially contacted Juan Soto’s camp, including his agent, Scott Boras.
“Seven teams that have called on Juan Soto are known, and while one is a major surprise — the homeless-at-the-moment Tampa Bay Rays — the other six are all major-market teams that have big payrolls and presumably a much better shot than the surprising Rays,” Heyman wrote in an article on Wednesday night.
The New York Yankees — Soto’s team this past season — headline the list of other teams, including the New York Mets, Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, San Francisco Giants, and the aforementioned Rays.
“The Yankees see [the Blue Jays] as the second-biggest obstacle after the Mets because they’re skeptical Soto would go to the West Coast,” Heyman added.
Soto is coming off of a monster season where he hit 41 home runs in his first year with the Yankees, coming over in the offseason in a trade with the San Diego Padres.
“Due to the volume of interest and Juan’s desire to hear [from teams], I can’t put a timeframe on it, but it’s going to be a very thorough process for him,” Boras said. “He wants to meet people personally. He wants to talk with them. He wants to hear from them.”
Soto’s deal is expected to be one of the biggest free agent contracts in major league baseball history, with many projections putting it in the $700 million range.
“He wants ownership that’s going to support that they are going to win annually,” Boras said. “Owners want to meet with Juan and sit down and talk with him about what they’re going to provide for their franchise short term and long term.”
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