Juan Soto and Shohei Ohtani are two big names in modern-day baseball. Last year, the two-way superstar broke the free agent contract record in the history of North American sports. Several teams went into the bidding war for the Japanese sensation. Finally, it came down to two teams – the Toronto Blue Jays & the Los Angeles Dodgers, who were favourites to land the Unicorn. Anyway, after a lot of waiting, the Japanese superstar announced in his Instagram post that he has decided to sign with the Dodgers and stay in LA.
Moreover, the Dodgers ended up spending a lot of money to land the two-time MVP. They got Ohtani for a 10-year deal worth $700 million. It was quite an unprecedented number that had never before been seen in MLB. But experts justified the reason for the big sum of money as Shohei Ohtani is both an elite hitter cum pitcher. There’s no one else who’s as good as the Japanese. However, some experts lately have been predicting that the New York Yankees outfielder Juan Soto can break Ohtani’s record in the next offseason.
Can Juan Soto Break Shohei Ohtani’s $700M Record Deal?
Several fans and experts believe that the next free agency can be all about Juan Soto. The four-time Silver Slugger winner has not yet signed an extension with the New York Yankees. There was a brief speculation about a possibility that Soto might have an in-season contract extension talk. But as it seems, nothing really happened regarding that between Hal Steinbrenner and Scott Boras, Soto’s agent. Hence, the Dominican slugger will likely become a free agent which would also be the most anticipated free agency in the league’s history. It won’t be fair to compare with Ohtani’s deal because last year’s contract signing might see a dip in its present-day value. At present, the value of Ohtani’s $700 million contract is a little over $430 million.
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Several reasons play a part in lowering the contract’s value, like deferred payments, inflation, and inability for investing the big bucks right now. Some MLB insiders believe that the 2020 NL Batting Champion can top the present-day value in his next free agency. Recently, the host of “Yankees Unloaded,” Gary Sheffield Jr. predicted that Juan Soto might sign a 13-year deal north of $600 million. Moreover, Sheffield added that anybody who doesn’t feel Soto’s worth $600 million, is “In denial or just foolish.” Also, the host said Soto’s age is an important factor as no 25 year old outfielder would sign any deal less than $600 million.
Mets And Yankees Favorites To Land The Dominican Superstar
Juan Soto notably turned down a 15 year deal worth $440 million that his previous team, the Washington Nationals offered him long before he made a move to the San Diego Padres. The team with whom he won the World Series in 2019 was not performing well enough during Soto’s last days with the team. Hence, he looked for a fresh start elsewhere. Lately, the Dominican slugger seems to enjoy his time with the Yankees.
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He is also one of the contenders to win the American League MVP this year, besides his partner in baseball crime, Aaron Judge. Clearly, the Bronx Bombers will try their best to extend his contract this offseason. But experts believe the NY Mets might give their crosstown rivals a hard time in Soto’s free agency as they have a better payroll situation.
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