Details emerge of Soto’s specific questions to Blue Jays in free agent meeting
The Toronto Blue Jays will not be the champions of the offseason this year.
With the New York Mets landing superstar free agent Juan Soto for the largest contract in pro sports history on Sunday evening, Toronto once again found themselves playing second fiddle when it comes to the league’s top dogs.
And while you can argue all you want about whether a $765 million deal for one player is worth it, it’s clear that the Jays would have a better chance heading back to contention with Soto than without.
A Sportsnet article by Shi Davidi and Ben Nicholson-Smith offered some insight into just how close the Jays got to landing Soto, including some quotes from general manager Ross Atkins and manager John Schneider.
“I think we were just really fortunate to have the support that we had,” Atkins said. “He’s a really good player, a really good person on and off the field, so he had a lot of interest. We were grateful to be a part of the process.”
Unsurprisingly, the general publc didn’t take too kindly to that quote on social media, as no trophies are won in Major League Baseball for gratitude or being part of the process.
Seeing Ross Atkins quotes pic.twitter.com/FbjyY6r5Xt
— Josh Goldberg (@JGoldberg12) December 9, 2024
Ross Atkins is the biggest fraud in Toronto sports history.
And there's been some doozies.
— Nick Alberga (@thegoldenmuzzy) December 9, 2024
https://t.co/KVoBAcAyGF pic.twitter.com/uvJChfgg3A
— sheldon (@sheldon__2) December 9, 2024
Performatively all-in on the acquisitions they know they can't close. #LoveThisTeam https://t.co/zKAQyMnRIf
— The Road Guy (@Road_Guy_Colin) December 9, 2024
Though Atkins might not have divulged much, Schneider shared a bit more of the specifics of what Soto was curious about with the Blue Jays organization.
“He’s a sharp dude,” said Schneider. “There were some pretty deliberate questions — where does my family sit, when do you open the roof, what’s your farm system like? It’s not a surprise that he’s gotten the contract he got, albeit it’s really, really big. Players like that, he’s buttoned up on the field and off. So it was really in-depth, obviously had a lot of things that he wanted to uncover about us. There’s a reason he’s that good.”
Schneider’s comments come on the heels of a story where Soto’s family members and private staff had reportedly been told off by New York Yankees security last season while playing in the Bronx, as per the New York Post’s Jon Heyman.
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