MLB Power Rankings: Juan Soto's preferred destinations for teams he hasn't met with yet

The Juan Soto sweepstakes are officially here and the first round of in-person meetings have seemingly concluded. Soto met with the New York Mets, New York Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays and Boston Red Sox last week and it sounds like the meetings all went well.

While these four franchises are likely to be the top four teams in Soto's sweepstakes, there are still 26 other major league teams that have a chance to sign him — albeit most of those 26 are less than realistic.

Among the rest of the league, which teams could be the top destinations for Soto?

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4. The Cubs are fun to consider, but their chance at Soto is almost non-existent

The Chicago Cubs popped up in the rumors for a bit. Let's think about it.

This team is trying to win and they're expected to be buyers in free agency. They've been connected to star players like Corbin Burnes and Pete Alonso among a few other top targets. For a little bit, Soto was a name that Cubs fans were raving over. And why not? Soto is the top free agent of the class and Chicago wants to put a good product on the field in 2025.

Unfortunately, it might not be in the cards. Soto is expected to sign a contract in the $600 million to $700 million range, and if the Cubs weren't in on Shohei Ohtani in 2023, they likely won't be in on Soto this offseason either. There are definitely still some Cubs fans holding out on this fever dream though, even after Chicago wasn't mentioned in the first group of meetings.

Instead of Soto, Chicago could look to bring in a pitcher like Roki Sasaki and a position player like Pete Alonso. Chicago will still be trying to win, especially given the amount of money they're paying Craig Counsell to manage the team. But as of now, their buying likely won't include adding the biggest free agent on the market.

3. The Padres likely won't be able to come up with the money for Soto

The San Diego Padres are looking to chase down the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West, though they're fighting quite the uphill battle to get there. The Dodgers are coming off a 2024 World Series victory and they're only getting better heading into 2025.

The Padres may have been the closest thing to beating the Dodgers in 2024, but they simply didn't have enough firepower to finish the job. This offseason, the Padres could look to shock everybody and bring Juan Soto back to San Diego to provide them the firepower they need to beat the Dodgers.

They offered him north of $400 million in a contract extension while he was with the team last year. Soto is comfortable with the team, front office and coaching staff. What's stopping the Padres from re-signing Soto this offseason?

To put it simply, it's the money. San Diego is paying too many players a significant amount of money. There's no "cap space" in baseball like there is in football or basketball, but the price tag to sign Soto is probably a bit too high for the Padres.

The only way San Diego could get a deal done with Soto is if they offer a contract almost identical to Shohei Ohtani's $700 million deal with $680 million in deferred money.

2. Soto to the Phillies isn't completely outlandish, though it's not the most likely option

If there is one team in the league that we know wants to make a huge splash this offseason, it's the Philadelphia Phillies. The Phillies are coming off one of their best seasons over the last decade, yet they have almost nothing to show for it. They had a ton of All-Stars and a great regular season, but zero postseason success outweighs everything from the first 162 games.

For a few weeks, the Phillies were rumored to be in on Soto and it makes a lot of sense. They're looking to dump a few of their veteran players including Nick Castellanos and they could slot Soto into right field very quickly.

Philadelphia is facing the possibility of bringing in Bryce Harper but then having little postseason success with him outside of one World Series appearance. It would truly be one of the biggest downfalls of Philadelphia sports over the last 20 years.

But how realistic is it for them to sign Soto?

You shouldn't bet on it, but it's not outside the realm of possibilities. The Phillies front office could scrounge up the money if it really wanted to — But it likely won't want to. Instead, they may be forced to watch Soto sign with the Mets and play within the NL East for the next 15 years.

1. The Dodgers could sign Soto and completely ruin the league

Imagine if a team signed the best player in the league to a record-breaking contract worth over $700 million. That team shouldn't have the money to sign another $600 million player because they're already paying one guy $700 million, right?

Well, this is the beauty (or horror) of the Dodgers giving Ohtani $680 million of his contract in deferred money. The two-way star isn't making $70 million a year right now — instead, it's just $2 million a year. That opens up the perfect opportunity to sign Juan Soto to a front-loaded contract that pays him most of his $650 million contract during the first ten years and then slowly weans down during the back half.

This sounds impossible, but it's scarily possible for the Dodgers to pull off. And it would completely ruin the league.

Though it's possible, the Dodgers weren't involved in the first set of meetings with Soto, so they're likely not expected to be among the favorites. Still, there's plenty of time left for the front office to discuss the possibility of trying to bring him in. The rest of the league just has to hope they don't pull it off.