Blue Jays worst-case scenario in Juan Soto negotiations is still very much in play

You can hardly blame the Toronto Blue Jays for making Juan Soto their top priority this offseason. GM Ross Atkins desperately needs to turn things around quickly after a last-place finish in 2024, and Soto isn't just a 26-year-old future Hall of Famer: He's a 26-year-old future Hall of Famer who also happens to be the perfect fit for a team which needs both a corner outfielder and a lefty bat to pair with Bo Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. It's unclear where exactly the Jays stand in the Soto sweepstakes, or how likely it actually is that they lure the superstar to Canada; but they're at least serious enough to have warranted an in-person meeting, and if rumors about this coming down to the highest bidder are true, then Rogers Communications is as well-positioned as anyone.

But the longer this drags on, and the more smoke grows around teams like the New York Yankees, New York Mets and Boston Red Sox as favorites for Soto's services, the more this looks like it could be a redux of last year's whiff on Shohei Ohtani. Which could be a disaster for Toronto in more ways than one: Not just because they'd miss out on a franchise-shifting player, but because if their pursuit of Soto drags on long enough, it could hamstring the team for the rest of the most important offseason in recent memory.

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Juan Soto free agency could throw a wrench in the Blue Jays' entire offseason

Recent reports suggest that Soto's free agency isn't expected to drag on the way we saw from some of the big names on the market last winter. And that's been backed up by some recent activity, including fellow Scott Boras client Blake Snell already having signed a deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers. It sure seems like Soto will have chosen a team by the close of the Winter Meetings, at the absolute latest.

But nothing is guaranteed yet, and with so many deep-pocketed teams so motivated to land Soto, it's hardly out of the question for Boras to stoke a bidding war that drags into the middle of December. And the longer this goes on, the more likely it seems that the Jays could be stuck facing their worst-case scenario for this offseason.

As huge as landing Soto would be, that's just the beginning of the work for Atkins and Co. this winter. The team still needs lots of help on the infield, in the bullpen and even in the starting rotation, with limited impact targets in free agency and a mediocre farm system that won't be able to compete for the top trade targets thought to be available. Just because Atkins is making Soto the priority doesn't mean that he's not also engaging Boras and other agents in conversations about other players, gauging interest and maybe even talking hypothetical terms. But the market isn't going to wait for Toronto, and once we get past the Thanksgiving holiday, names could start flying off the board fast and furious.

If Soto does sign elsewhere, the Jays will have to pivot quickly to field a competitive team in what could be both Bichette and Guerrero Jr.'s final season in Toronto. But if things drag on long enough, the chance to do that could go up in smoke before Atkins even has a chance to react.