Juan Soto's rumored asking price will even make Shohei Ohtani jealous

The New York Yankees made a bold offseason trade, acquiring Juan Soto from the Padres. It was an outstanding move to bolster an offense in dire need of more talent, but it was also a risky one as New York traded a ton of talent for only one guaranteed year of Soto.

The deal has already paid dividends for the Yankees who have won five of their first six games with Soto playing a major role in their success, but the thoughts of him dashing after the season are unavoidable.

Soto being represented by Scott Boras almost certainly means he'll be entering free agency at the end of the season and won't entertain extension talks. It also means that he'll begin free agency with an absurd asking price. The reported asking price from The Athletic's ($) Britt Ghiroli might even make Shohei Ohtani jealous.

Juan Soto's reported asking price might even make Shohei Ohtani jealous

Ohtani signed a 10-year deal worth $700 million to join the Dodgers. It was the biggest deal in MLB history, and included unprecedented deferrals. Ohtani deferred all but $2 million annually, so $20 million total out of the $700 million for until after his ten-year deal is up. This means he'll collect the remaining $680 million after his initial contract expires.

Soto likely won't see a 7 at the beginning of his contract, but he's looking to beat Ohtani's AAV accounting for the deferrals.

“He’s got big eyes,” said a source who was with Soto in D.C. “I think he’s after the AAV (average annual value) Ohtani has, without the deferrals.” (Ohtani’s current contract, accounting for its record deferrals, is valued at $46 million a year, good for the highest AAV in the sport this year.)

The number Soto is looking to beat is the $46 million AAV. Considering the fact that he's just 25 years old, if Soto gets a long enough deal at a higher AAV he might even get pretty close to the $700 million number.

He might not be a two-way player like Ohtani or the draw that Ohtani is, but Soto is unlike anything we've ever seen from an offensive standpoint. There really are no flaws in his offensive game. He's not a speedster or a good defender, but he's the kind of player anyone would want to replicate at the dish.

"Ultimately, it seems Boras and Soto are after records. The number, many in the industry expect, will start at $500 million."

The number starting at $500 million already, in theory, eliminates most of the league. This will be a battle between the big market giants of MLB. How high can Boras and Soto get the bidding to go? A great 2024 with the Yankees will have a big say in that.

If Boras has a repeat of his 2023 offseason, however, Soto might be in a world of trouble while Ohtani would get a nice kick out of it.