Juan Soto sweepstakes heats up as Slugger meets with four teams

Free agent slugger Juan Soto’s market is heating up quickly as expected, with the star slugger being the prize of the market this season.

According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, Soto will start talking to potential teams this week in California. The Toronto Blue Jays will get the first meeting with Soto, followed by the Boston Red Sox. Then the two prohibitive favorites, the New York Mets and New York Yankees, get a chance for Soto to hear their pitch.

The Yankees would certainly love to see him back in the middle of their batting order. The 26-year-old Soto hit .288 for the Bronx Bombers this season, with 41 home runs and 109 RBI in 576 at-bats.

Soto is also in historic company as he enters his prime. As Passan noted, Soto ranks eighth all-time in OPS+ among players with 3,000 or more plate appearances during their age-25 season. His OPS+ of 160 trails only Ty Cobb, Mickey Mantle, Mike Trout, Jimmie Foxx, Albert Pujols, Tris Speaker and Rogers Hornsby. That’s certainly a good Hall of Fame company to be in.

Soto will likely get the longest contract in MLB history due to his age and talent. Fernando Tatis Jr. of the San Diego Padres currently holds that record for contract length with his 14-year, $340 million contract. Soto’s deal could break the record for contract length and is expected to generate more than $600 million in guaranteed money.