MLB Power Rankings: Juan Soto's preferred destinations once offers are made

Decision time is rapidly approaching for the top free agent on the market - Juan Soto. According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, the superstar outfielder is expected to sign no later than the conclusion of the Winter Meetings. Given that information, it wouldn't be surprising at all to see Soto make his decision within the next couple of weeks.

All eyes are currently on where he will sign and how much he'll go for. Will Soto seriously entertain leaving a team that he just led to the AL Pennant? Will Soto really come close to or pass the $700 million that Shohei Ohtani got last offseason? A lot of questions still have to be answered.

Now that Soto has met with several teams interested in signing him, the offers are going to start to come in. ESPN's Buster Olney reported that this week is expected to be when the offers begin to be made. With that in mind, let's take a look at where Soto might be leaning once those first offers are made.

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5) The Phillies and Dodgers feel like nothing more than honorable mentions in the Juan Soto sweepstakes

Once the offseason began, it felt as if Soto was a near lock to remain in New York, but big-market teams like the Philadelphia Phillies and Los Angeles Dodgers loomed as real threats.

The Phillies made a lot of sense for Soto on paper, given their need for a bat in the outfield and Soto's familiarity with several key members of the organization like Bryce Harper, Trea Turner, and Kevin Long. News broke that they were planning on meeting with Soto, but it turns out that they haven't even reached out to meet with him. Well, it's pretty hard to get him if you don't even try!

The Dodgers seemingly had a great chance to actually convince Soto to come back out west. They've got more money than they know what to do with, have a star-studded roster ready to win every year, and are in a huge market. It's hard to think of anything that they couldn't offer him. They did meet with Soto, but it feels as if they aren't as desperate as the others on this list to bring him aboard, and it's hard to blame them. They're defending champions for a reason!

These teams will always be at least a little threatening given their recent history of spending and their contending statuses, but until they really take this seriously, it's hard to see Soto ending up in either of these places.

4) The Blue Jays have too much ground to make up for Juan Soto to take them seriously

As the Toronto Blue Jays showed last offseason, they have a ton of money to spend. Because of this, they nearly persuaded Shohei Ohtani to come north of the border. However, as we saw this past season, the Jays are far away from being legitimate threats in the American League.

Even if Soto believes he can win with this Blue Jays team, how willing will he be to sign the decade-long deal he covets given the fact that Toronto's two best players - Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette - will be free agents after 2025? Adding onto the fact that a lot of Toronto's core is old, the bullpen is a mess, and the farm system is far from stellar, and it's hard to see them being attractive.

Money talks, and that's what's gotten them to the table to meet with him. Unfortunately, other teams are going to be willing to offer Soto a truckload of money as well. Barring the Jays outbidding the field by a sizable margin, it's just hard to envision them actually getting the outfielder to sign the dotted line.

3) The Red Sox appear to be more serious than initially given credit for

When the Boston Red Sox were first mentioned in Soto rumors, they were dismissed by most baseball fans. Sure, they could sign him if they remembered they were the Red Sox, but given their recent refusal to spend much money at all, who expected John Henry and Co. to actually pay up?

Well, based on all reporting, the Red Sox are serious about this. They finally appear ready to establish themselves as legitimate World Series contenders, and signing Soto would obviously get them a whole lot closer.

The Red Sox have an exciting core with players like Rafael Devers, Jarren Duran, and Triston Casas already in place, they have one of the best farm systems in the majors, and Fenway Park is a perfect ballpark for him. The Red Sox have a ton to offer, it's just a matter of will the money match up.

At the end of the day, while it's good to see Boston actually show a real willingness to steal Soto away from their biggest rivals, it's just hard to see them actually outbid the field to land him. Barring that, it's hard to see Soto settling on Boston for less money than he'd get elsewhere.

2) Will the Yankees actually spend like the Yankees?

The fit with Juan Soto and the New York Yankees could not have been much better. He just had one of, if not his best season in 2024 wearing pinstripes, and given Aaron Judge's presence and the ballpark he'd play at 81 times per year, it's easy to expect Soto to dominate in the Bronx for the next decade. Had George Steinbrenner been running the show, he might've been locked in for the remainder of his career by now.

It's really just hard to shake the feeling that Hal Steinbrenner is going to be outbid here. Sure, he got Aaron Judge to re-sign, but the Yankees weren't even the highest offer in his pursuit. If the Yankees weren't willing to spend like crazy for Aaron Judge - a homegrown player who just set the AL record with 62 home runs the season prior - what makes you think he'd do whatever it takes to bring Soto back?

There's no disputing that the Yankees need Soto, and Soto could end up staying with the Yankees for less than the top offer, but are we sure of that? Soto might love being a Yankee, but if money is the No. 1 priority, the Bronx Bombers could be in trouble here.

1) Steve Cohen is making the Mets the team to beat in the Juan Soto sweepstakes

New York Mets fans were so excited to see Steve Cohen buy the team in large part because of offseasons like this one. A 26-year-old on a Hall of Fame trajectory is available for nothing but money, and the Mets have the richest owner in baseball to try and get it done.

If all things were equal, would Soto choose the Mets over the Yankees? Probably not, but they are not all equal. Nightengale reported on Monday that the Mets are seen as "clear-cut favorites" in large part due to Cohen's wallet. At the end of the day, nobody is expected to outbid him.

Again, Soto can choose to sign elsewhere for less. If the Mets had the season in 2024 that many expected them to, that might have been his preferred decision. However, this Mets team made it to the NLCS this past season. With him, they should have a realistic shot of dethroning the Dodgers.

If he were to sign with the Mets it'd be mostly for the money, but it's not as if he'd be joining a team with absolutely no chance of winning now or in the future. Having a legitimate team to surround him with and the highest offer financially puts the Mets in an ideal position here. It certainly feels as if this is their race to lose as of now.