Shocking Move: Blue Jays Confident in Landing $630M Superstar
The Toronto Blue Jays unquestionably have money to spend on free agents. Will they ever get the chance to prove it?
Last winter, the Blue Jays memorably struck out on now-Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani, announcing they were ready to pay $700 million for the future Hall of Famer. Toronto then appeared to have no backup plan, suffering a last-place finish in the regular season.
The time has never been more ripe for the Blue Jays to make a big splash. One insider believes they can cause a full-on tidal wave.
On Saturday, Bob Nightengale of USA Today predicted that the Blue Jays would win the Juan Soto sweepstakes, paying $630 million over 14 years for the current New York Yankees superstar.
“The Blue Jays still have $700 million burning a hole in their wallet, and after Yankees refuse to budge from their original offer, the Blue Jays swoop in and get their man for $630 million over 14 years,” Nightengale said.
Soto, who turned 26 in October, is already a near-lock to become a Hall of Famer, putting up 201 home runs, a .421 career on-base percentage, and 36.4 WAR in his first seven seasons. He’s also got a World Series ring, which he won during his age-20 season with the Washington Nationals.
The Blue Jays would very much like to win a ring, and they’ll face stiff competition in their own division to do so. The Yankees went to the World Series this year, the Baltimore Orioles have long been on the rise, and even the Boston Red Sox look to be coming back into the fold.
Toronto should have the desperation required to enter the bidding war for Soto. Whether they win it could come down to how much they’ve learned from their failed persuasion attempts with Ohtani last December.
