MLB Loser Rankings: Predicting the 3 teams Juan Soto has already eliminated

We got a significant update in the Juan Soto sweepstakes on Tuesday, as the star outfielder's agent, Scott Boras, addressed reporters during Blake Snell's introductory press conference with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Boras told the media that Soto had a lot of information to sort through after meeting with at least five interested teams, and that no decision was imminent just yet. But he also mentioned that his client had started eliminating teams from consideration — while declining to name just which teams they were.

So let's see if we can fill in those blanks for him. We know that Soto has met with the New York Yankees, New York Mets, Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Dodgers, but we also know that that's not a complete list of teams that he and his camp have been in contact with. Who might still be in the running, and who's already been told thanks but no thanks? Here's where we think things stand based on all available evidence.

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3. The Washington Nationals always made sense as a Juan Soto mystery team

From the jump, there was always at least one team thought to have at least spoken with Boras and Soto outside of the five confirmed in-person meetings. While the San Francisco Giants and Philadelphia Phillies were frequently mentioned as options, the Washington Nationals always fit that bill perfectly.

Soto still has positive relationships with GM Mike Rizzo and several coaches and players who were there during his first stint in D.C., and we know that Boras has a direct line to Mark Lerner, who he's milked for some massive contracts in the past. Plus, with a budding young core in place after five straight losing seasons, Soto is exactly the sort of superstar who could take this Nationals team from "plucky" to "genuine contender". Even if Soto never really had his heart set on a reunion, it would make sense to at least take the meeting for the sake of driving up bidding.

Of course, once it comes time to get down to brass tacks, those considerations go out the window. It would make sense for the Nationals to reach out to Soto's camp, and even make an initial offer, but unless the outfielder really could see himself in Washington, now is the time to turn his focus to the real finalists.

2. The Phillies have officially bailed on signing Juan Soto

On Wednesday morning, Matt Gelb of The Athletic reported that, at least according to his sources, the Philadelphia Phillies had never held a meeting with Soto — and what's more, they'd never even made the outfielder a contract offer.

Gelb is a trusted source, and you could very well take that report at face value. Or you could read between the lines a little bit, and wonder why a Phillies source would be motivated to leak this particular information just 12 hours or so after Boras revealed that Soto had begun eliminating interested teams.

Maybe the Phillies really never were interested in the winter's biggest free agent. Dave Dombrowski has plenty of other holes to fill (and trades to consider), and the team doesn't have a ton of payroll flexibility for a Soto deal at the moment. But everything we know about Dombrowski and owner John Middleton suggest that they would at least have kicked the tires on a player like Soto; and if they hadn't, why wouldn't we have heard about it before now?

More likely is that the Phillies were at least keeping tabs on Soto's market, but weren't willing to fully break the bank. And when the bidding war reached a third round, Dombrowski and Co. balked, causing Soto to cut them loose.

1. The Dodgers never had their hearts fully in the Juan Soto sweepstakes

You can never count the Los Angeles Dodgers out of any bidding they're even peripherally involved with. These are the Dodgers, after all, and they can afford just about anything they set their minds to, especially with Shohei Ohtani printing money for the organization.

But despite taking a meeting with Soto last month, L.A. never seemed to have both feet in these sweepstakes. Andrew Friedman will always do his due diligence, but last we heard, Rosenthal described the Dodgers as "hanging around the backboard, seeing if the ball somehow falls into their hands." In other words: If the outfielder was willing to take a shorter deal for a higher average annual value, or if his market didn't take off into the stratosphere as predicted, the team would be able to pounce; if not, though, Los Angeles didn't have much interest in shelling out a second straight $700 million deal — especially not after signing Blake Snell.

The Yankees and Mets are the two frontunners. The Red Sox aren't far behind. The Blue Jays are expected to be the high bidder, and Boras will never turn that sort of money away until he absolutely has to. The most likely team of the five to have been eliminated already is undoubtedly the Dodgers, but hey, at least they have a Commissioner's Trophy to console them.