The Toronto Blue Jays were the first team to meet with outfielder Juan Soto, the obvious prize of the offseason’s free agent class. Their interest in signing Soto is genuine and their pockets run deep. But how would signing Soto mesh with the team’s long-term plans?
The Blue Jays haven’t won a postseason game since 2016. They have not won the American League East since 2015. Although they qualified for the playoffs three times in a four-year span (2020-23) and narrowly missed the cut after their 91-win campaign in 2021, Toronto has yet to materialize a deep playoff run despite a talented core of young players.
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The best of the homegrown bunch is first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
A four-time All-Star, Guerrero slashed .323/.396/.544 and made his fourth consecutive American League All-Star team in 2024. The 2021 AL MVP award runner-up turns 26 next March.
Guerrero has one year remaining before he’s eligible for free agency, and is projected to earn $28.9 million in his final season of arbitration eligibility.
If Soto were interested in signing a one-year contract, questions about Guerrero’s future in Toronto would be moot. Soto is not interested in signing a one-year contract. The consensus opinion within the baseball industry is that Soto is aiming to exceed the value of Shohei Ohtani’s record 10-year, $700 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
