Juan Soto rumors: Five offers roll in, Red Sox going big, Judge's plea

Thanksgiving is almost here, and possibly the biggest Winter Meetings in recent MLB history is drawing ever closer. Plenty of big names figure to find new homes over the next few weeks, but one of them is a bit bigger than the rest: Juan Soto, who might well shatter records with his new contract.

Soto and agent Scott Boras have already taken preliminary meetings with interested teams, and now the bidding war can begin in earnest. Which clubs have the edge? Who's willing to be the highest bidder? Here's everything we're hearing as the Soto sweepstakes heat up.

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Juan Soto Rumors: Five teams make initial offers

The in-person meetings with Soto and Boras allowed the player to sit down and get to know various front offices. Now, it's time to get down to brass tacks. According to a report from Randy Miller of NJ.com, five teams submitted contract offers to the 26-year-old late last week, and the names are about what you'd expect: the New York Yankees, New York Mets, Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays.

The next step will be for each team to negotiate with Boras, with most reports expecting Soto to reach a decision either just prior to or at the Winter Meetings in the first week of December. Per Miller, the outfielder is seeking a 15-year deal that eclipses the $700 million that Shohei Ohtani got from the Dodgers last winter. And unlike Ohtani, Soto "isn't interested in deferred money". That would obviously be a massive, massive commitment, but Soto is a special player, and with Steve Cohen and Hal Steinbrenner going toe-to-toe, anything is possible.

Juan Soto Rumors: Red Sox get aggressive

Of course, while the two New York teams are considered the prohibitive favorites to land Soto, other teams are determined to make a serious run. Foremost among them: the Boston Red Sox, who appear to be making good on their pledge to make a splash this offseason. Previous reports suggested that Boston's chief baseball officer, Craig Breslow, had his sights set on entering the bidding for just about all of the top-tier free agents, and sure enough, he appears deadly serious about Soto.

According to a report from Hector Gomez, Boston has upped its initial offer to Soto, both in years and in total value.

It's unclear just where Boston's offer stands right now, but we know what Soto's expecting, so the fact that the Red Sox are still a part of this bidding war is a good sign as to just how committed John Henry is to getting his team back into contention.

Juan Soto Rumors: Aaron Judge's plea to Hal Steinbrenner

Judge has been relatively hands-off when it comes to recruiting Soto to return to the Yankees, preferring to give his former teammate time and space to come to his own decision. One person he is willing to lean on, though? His owner, Hal Steinbrenner.

After taking home his AL MVP award last week, Judge told reporters that he'd met with Steinbrenner in Tampa after the end of the World Series to talk about the state of the team and the plan going forward. At the top of that list is Soto, who Judge very much enjoyed hitting behind all season long. And the captain made clear that he doesn't much care how costly a reunion might be.

“Honestly, it ain’t my money,” Judge said of his message to ownership about the Soto bidding war. “I really don’t care, as long as we get the best players, we get the most that we can."

As if Steinbrenner needed any more pressure to get this done.