MLB insider claims "Dodgers didn't make Bryce Harper 13-year offer like Phillies," predicting similar strategy for Juan Soto
Juan Soto's free agency was supposed to be a bidding war between two New York teams, but the way LA Dodgers are signing these days and being reportedly involved in his sweepstakes, there's no knowing how things could unfold.
At the moment, there are five teams reported to be involved in Soto's sweepstakes. They are the New York Yankees, Mets, Boston Red Sox, LA Dodgers and the Toronto Blue Jays.
On Friday's edition of "The Foul Territory," MLB insider Ken Rosenthal said that the Dodgers might be working out a shorter and higher average annual value deal for Soto. That was in reference to how the Dodgers approached Bryce Harper's free agency in 2019.
"If you remember 2019, when Bryce Harper was a free agent, the Dodgers didn’t make him a 13-year offer like the Phillies did. Instead, they offered him a three-year deal, which I believe was in the range of $35–40 million per year — a very high average annual value at the time," Rosenthal said (9:23 onwards).
"Would it shock me if the Dodgers were doing something similar with Soto? No, it wouldn’t shock me. These offers, however, are not always comparable. I expect that in the end, the Red Sox, Yankees, Mets, Blue Jays, Dodgers — perhaps all of them — will be in the same neighborhood, up in the $600 million range, with offers spanning 13 to 15 years, including opt-outs and other clauses."
MLB insider reports Dodgers has other motives to get into Juan Soto sweepstakes
Many were surprised to learn that the LA Dodgers were involved in potentially signing Juan Soto, who's reportedly seeking a 15-year, $700 million contract.
According to Randy Miller of NJ.com, Soto and his agent Scott Boras met with the Dodgers front office in Newport Beach, California, last week. The meeting reportedly ended with the Dodgers making an offer to the outfielder.
However, USA Today's Bob Nightengale believes that the Dodgers don't need to sign Soto and are only doing it to pressurize free agent outfielder Teoscar Hernandez into re-signing with them.
"The Los Angeles Dodgers just won a World Series without Soto, and it wasn’t much of an inconvenience to drive through traffic across town, and meet with Soto and agent Scott Boras," Nightengale wrote.
"The meeting helps perhaps drives the price up for Soto, and even more important, puts a little pressure on outfielder Teoscar Hernandez into re-signing with them."
Hernandez was a key asset on their way to their eighth World Series title. Bringing him back should be a no-brainer but not before a few likely mind games to settle for a price that would be better for their payroll.