Last winter, the prized superstar available in free agency was Shohei Ohtani, who landed a record $700 million, 10-year contract with the club. Los Angeles Dodgers. This upcoming offseason, teams are bidding on another superstar, New York Yankees outfielder Juan Soto.

Soto is only 26 years old and has been one of the best hitters in the league throughout his young career. He is expected to cash in on a massive contract this offseason. While it may not be as big as Ohtani’s, it will get there.

Here are the latest rumors regarding Soto’s upcoming free agency.

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The two favorites to sign Soto are expected to be between the Yankees and Mets, two major league teams from New York. Despite this, this does not mean that teams are excluded. In fact, a World Series contender over the past two seasons is also linked to Soto.

According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, the Philadelphia Phillies “We strongly expect them to continue” Soto this winter. There is one interesting piece of information that Nightengale drops, and that is that they want to team up with Bryce Harper, who shares the same agent as Soto – Scott Boras.

Prior to the 2019 season, Harper signed a 13-year, $330 million contract with the Phillies. He signed late in the offseason, but still landed a mammoth contract. The move helped the Phillies become an annual playoff contender.

It’s unclear if Soto will sign a deal as late in free agency as Harper, but it shouldn’t come as a shock that the Phillies are interested in signing him. This is the same team that showed it would spend big money to field a World Series contender. In recent years, they’ve signed Trea Turner, Zack Wheeler, and Kyle Schwarber to massive contracts that have landed them in the NLCS twice in the past three years.

The point is, will the Phillies come up with a contract offer that rivals that of the Yankees or Mets? We’ll just have to wait and see. But from here on out, you can expect the Phillies to take a swing at Soto.

Every year, the Dodgers are linked to the best free agents available on the market. This is mainly due to the team owners’ willingness to spend a lot of money to ensure they field a World Series caliber team. So it shouldn’t be surprising that the Dodgers expect a run in Soto.

According to New York Post MLB insider Jon Heyman, the Dodgers are interested in signing their current World Series opponent. Heyman notes that Ohtani’s current contract could help them in their pursuit of many free agents, not just Soto.

As we all know, the Dodgers signed Ohtani to a 10-year, $700 million contract. However, this agreement is strongly postponed. As in, $680 million is deferred to be paid over a 10-year period, from 2034 to 2043. Heyman also outlined the profit Ohtani brings to the Dodgers, even after deferring his contract into the future.

“Rumor has it that since $68 million of Ohtani’s $70 million salary is carried over without interest, the actual cost to the Dodgers is closer to $30 million per year, or even less than the $43.7 million of dollars estimated by the players’ union,” Heyman wrote. “But far more important is the enormous profit the Dodgers make from sponsorship and marketing opportunities. Two Asian airlines alone sponsor the Dodgers, the LA Times reported. The club’s profit is said to be actually several times higher than the cost of Ohtani’s record contract.”

Ohtani’s contract allowed the Dodgers to sign Teoscar Hernandez to a one-year, $23.5 million contract, traded for Tyler Glasnow, and sign Yoshinobu Yamamoto to a 12-year, $325 million contract. Could this help the Dodgers sign Soto?

One team expected to compete in Soto this winter is Toronto Blue Jays. Last winter, they visited Ohtani, only to see him sign with the Dodgers. With that, baseball fans believe they will make up for it by signing Soto.

Soto’s asking price is going to be gargantuan. Athletic MLB insider Ken Rosenthal predicted his annual salary would be “starting with a five“Like in the $50 million-plus per year range.

Plus, The Athletic national writer and former general manager of the Cincinnati Reds and Washington Nationals Jim Bowden predicts Soto will sign a 15-year, $622 million contract this winter. As for best fits, the Blue Jays were listed alongside the Yankees and Mets. But maybe it’s time to put the brakes on that.

Jays Journal’s Edward Eng explains why the potential annual salary could put the Blue Jays out of the race for Soto.

“…the Jays actually have several needs to address, whether in the outfield, in the infield, or in their pitching depth,” Eng writes. “Particularly with their bullpen in desperate need of a total overhaul, the luxury of weapons in upcoming free agency provides plenty of options to help solve their problem. As a result, can the Jays really afford to spend too much for a single free agent? and are not adequately meeting their other needs due to resource depletion?

As Eng notes, the team has various needs to address this offseason after Toronto underperformed as a whole this season. Eng also brings up the fact that the Blue Jays need to re-sign Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette as they are set to become free agents after the 2025 season. These contract extensions won’t come cheap for the Blue Jays, he said. they choose to re-sign them both.

While it’s easy to see the Blue Jays making a run at Soto, they will likely be limited in their spending in other areas of need.