The Dodgers are poised to become the latest club to meet with superstar free agent Juan Soto, per a report from MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand earlier this evening. The meeting between the sides is scheduled for tomorrow. The Dodgers will join the Yankees, Mets, Red Sox, and Blue Jays in having met with Soto already, although Feinsand also reports that an undisclosed team in addition to that group has already met with Soto as well. The Giants, Phillies, and Rays are among the teams known to have interest in Soto that have not yet had a publicly reported meeting with the star outfielder.
That Soto and the Dodgers have a meeting set up is an interesting development given the somewhat mixed reports regarding the club’s plans regarding the superstar. Previous reports have indicated while L.A. intends to be somewhat involved in Soto’s free agency, those reports have also cautioned the club may not be as aggressive as other suitors. That relatively cautious approach to Soto on the Dodgers’ part could be at least partially due to questions regarding whether or not Soto, who hails from the Dominican Republic and Fort Lauderdale in Florida, prefers to play on the east coast. Notably, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports this evening that sources close to Soto have “downplayed” that rumored geographic presence, suggesting that Soto previously enjoyed living on the west coast while he played for the Padres.
It’s impossible to know where Soto’s geographic preferences lie, but Soto has emphasized in comments to reporters that winning is a priority for him, to the point of reportedly asking the Red Sox during his meeting with club officials about the organization’s commitment to winning. If winning is a priority for Soto, it’s hard to argue against the Dodgers. The reigning World Series champions have made the postseason in twelve consecutive seasons, and since 2017 have averaged more than 102 wins per year (excluding the 60-game 2020 season where they went 43-17 and won the World Series) while collecting two additional NL pennants in addition to their World Series championships. Last winter, the club added likely Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Tyler Glasnow to an impressive core of talent that already included Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman. Los Angeles figures to remain a juggernaut in the NL for years to come, and the addition of Soto to their already vaunted lineup would only reinforce that.
Given his elite talent, any club would be able to find a place for Soto in their lineup. With that being said, it’s particularly easy to see how Soto would fit into the Dodgers’ plans. With Mookie Betts expected to move back into the infield for the 2025 season, the club could look to make multiple additions to an outfield mix that presently includes only utility man Tommy Edman and youngster Andy Pages as potential everyday options. Even if the club wanted to reunite with free agent slugger Teoscar Hernandez as has been previously rumored, it’s easy to imagine the pair manning the corner outfield spots for the Dodgers with Edman as the primary center fielder while Pages backs up the starting trio and fills in for Edman on days he moves to the infield.
Financially, as mind-boggling as it may be to imagine the Dodgers inking Soto to a contract worth more than half a billion dollars just one year after committing more than a billion to Ohtani and Yamamoto amid last winter’s spending spree, the deferred structure of Ohtani’s contract could make such an expenditure more reasonable. The club’s payroll for 2025 is currently projected at $276MM, according to RosterResource. That clocks in $50MM below the club’s 2024 payroll, opening a clear pathway to adding Soto even at a record-setting average annual value. That wouldn’t leave much room for much-needed rotation upgrades or further offensive additions such as a reunion with Hernandez, but ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez notes that the value of Ohtani’s first season in L.A. “blew away” the club’s financial projections. Given that reality, it’s certainly not impossible to imagine the club having even more payroll space at their disposal than returning to the level that left them with the second-highest payroll in baseball last year.
Regardless of what club Soto ultimately ends up with, Feinsand goes on to report a belief around the league that a decision could be made in the near future. Specifically, Feinsand suggests that while Soto isn’t expected to sign prior to Thanksgiving, the “feeling around the league” is that the 26-year-old could land somewhere prior to the Winter Meetings with one executive suggesting to him that it would be a surprise if he hasn’t signed before the end of the Meetings on December 12. With the Winter Meetings just a month away and no team reported to have so much as made a formal offer to Soto yet, it’s possible that the winter’s top free agent could see his market begin to move quickly after the coming holiday.
