Now in the fourth week of the Major League Baseball offseason, there has been a never-ending avalanche of Juan Soto updates, as expected. There was no question that the top free agent and generational talent was going to command the majority of the headlines before the offseason even started. He'll continue to do so until he finally makes a decision.
Philadelphia Phillies fans have been taken on a wild ride, with hopes of signing or even being in the race for Soto yo-yo-ing up and down to wild extremes. After a recent and rather discouraging report that the Phillies had not even picked up the phone to talk to Soto and his agent Scott Boras, we all started to turn our attention to the rest of the free agent and trade markets.
But, yet again, here we are being sucked right back into the Soto drama.
Phillies insider provides much-needed good news on Juan Soto front
Despite that report coming out on Monday, it has already been nullified by a source we can all trust. MLB.com's Todd Zolecki gave Phillies fans some good news on The Phillies Show podcast on Wednesday.
"There's been a lot of talk about Juan Soto," Zolecki told co-hosts Jim Salisbury and Ruben Amaro Jr. "There was a report just a few days ago that the Phillies have not met with Juan Soto yet, they're going to meet with him at some point, but also that they have not even communicated at all with Scott Boras or anybody associated with Scott Boras.
"I've been told that, no surprise, they've communicated with Scott Boras about Juan Soto and others. … They expect to meet with him at some point. I don't know when that will be."
The report Zolecki refers to was made by USA Today's Bob Nightengale. He published the alarming note that the Phillies hadn't placed a call to Boras, claiming they hadn't even had a single conversation with Boras about Soto. Now we know that Nightengale was blowing hot air.
Hearing that the Phillies hadn't even spoken to Soto's camp was a little hard to believe to begin with. But with only rumors and shreds of news coming out, it's hard to know what's factual and what's bunk, for lack of a better word.
The Phillies still aren't one of the top suitors, however, with five other teams already making initial offers, according to NJ.com's Randy Miller. Hopefully, they'll make a move soon.