Dumbest argument against signing Juan Soto involves Freddie Freeman
By Austin Owens
As MLB’s Winter Meetings are quickly approaching, the biggest news ion the free-agent market remains Juan Soto. After putting together an impressive season with the New York Yankees, the 26 year old superstar is now a free agent and looking to cash in on his worth. While returning to the Bronx remains an option, Soto has been meeting with several other teams, some which come as a surprise.
The New York Mets made it very clear that they are willing to pay whatever it takes for Soto to move across town, however, teams like the Los Angeles Dodgers are making their case for Soto as well. Knowing that Soto is looking for a 10+ year deal, it seems pretty obvious that any hesitation would be related to dollar signs or commitment, however, there are some hot takes out there as to why teams should not sign Soto.
"Dude is a mercenary. Great player but a mercenary. When things get hard will he grind? No way he would have played with the same injuries Freddie played with this postseason," one Dodgers fan suggested on Bluesky.
Unfortunately, there's a whole contingent of baseball fans who seem convinced Soto traded himself two times over.
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Juan Soto was compared to Freddie Freeman for reasons we don't quite understand
When you think of Juan Soto, you think of a competitor, a nightmare for opposing pitchers and a major threat from every aspect of the game. A 'mercenary' is one of the last words that should be used to describe Soto, but apparently some people would disagree.
As if that was not big enough of a hot take, claiming that Soto would not play through the injuries Freddie Freeman did this season is absolutely diabolical. While we all know Freeman has a great deal of perseverance and is one of the best in the league, Soto has fought through some injuries himself.
In fact, just this past season with the Yankees, Soto hurt his knee in late September with an injury that would have likely moved him to the IL early in the campaign. Being the natural competitor he is, Soto took a day off (ended up pinch hitting) and did not miss any time at all. Soto fought through the injury and led his squad to a World Series appearance but just happened to come up short.
Avoiding signing Soto because of fear that he will not give 100 percent or miss time for non-serious injuries would be a major mistake for any ball club. If a team has the money and can convince Soto to wear their uniform, he is well worth the risk.