In recent weeks, rumors have it that the Philadelphia Phillies are long shots in potentially signing top free agent Juan Soto in free agency this offseason. Not only that, even Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski appeared to have shot down that possibility with his own vision and words, stating that the team didn’t need anymore star players going forward.
However, things may have changed in a complete turnaround after the latest rumblings from MLB insider Bob Nightengale of USA Today. Nightengale claims that the Phillies are "expected to strongly pursue” Soto as a result of one caveat, which is to team him up with fellow superstar Bryce Harper. That is because both Soto and Harper just happen to be clients of infamous top agent Scott Boras.
MLB insider says Phillies will 'strongly pursue' Juan Soto thanks to Bryce Harper
Nightengale also touched on the fact that it won’t be just a one-team race, as the New York Yankees would equally love to have Soto back. In addition, the New York Mets, Toronto Blue Jays and San Francisco Giants are all likely in play as well in a potential bidding war for the 26-year-old phenom. Based on the accolades that he has accumulated so far in his young career, who wouldn’t be interested in obtaining his services?
In just seven MLB seasons, Soto has posted a career batting average of .285 and OPS of .953, along with 655 runs scored, 179 doubles, 201 home runs, 592 RBI, 57 stolen bases, 769 walks and 696 strikeouts in 936 games. He has captured All-Star honors four times, Silver Slugger Awards three times, along with contending for the NL MVP Award on another four separate occasions.
On top of that, Soto has proven to be a big-time playoff performer, compiling a solid .285 average and .930 OPS, with 28 runs scored, seven doubles, 11 home runs and 30 RBI in just 40 career playoff games. That also included bringing home a World Series ring in 2019 with the Washington Nationals.
As Nightengale further elaborated, with a contract prediction expected to be greater than $500 million, Soto could eclipse the present-day value of Shohei Ohtani’s deal and become the highest-paid player in MLB history. Ohtani had a fair chunk of his Los Angeles Dodgers contract deferred without interest, giving it a present-day value closer to $460 million in total.
Nevertheless, the Phillies should have the money to help make the improbable dream come true. Nightengale sure thinks they will go for it, so the ball is now in the Phillies’ court to make it happen.