Dodgers: MLB Pundit Believes Juan Soto Could End Up in LA When He Enters Free Agency
Imagine an outfield that consists of Cody Bellinger, Juan Soto, and Mookie Betts. It sounds a little bit like someone turned off the trade denial in MLB The Show. But given their willingness to spend big in free agency, it’s not totally out of the question for the Dodgers.
Los Angeles will probably see a number of big names walk away in free agency this year. That could mean a number of things for Andrew Friedman and his team. They could look to sign other big names, stick with the guys they have, or go out and re-sign some of the guys that are leaving.
Anything could happen this year. But you have to imagine that they are looking past 2022 as well. The Atheltic’s Jim Bowden went a far as to suggest that the Dodgers could land Juan Soto after he becomes a free agent next offseason. Bowden believes that is more likely than Soto signing an extension with the Nationals.
I’ve heard that when he’s amassed six years of service time, he’s more likely to end up with the Dodgers or Yankees. I would enjoy this time with Soto in a Nationals uniform, because I’m afraid there will come a day when they trade him, as they did with Trea Turner this past season.
That would be pretty insane given that Soto’s next contract could very well be worth $500 million, or at least close to it. The Dodgers have pretty deep pockets, but investing close to a billion dollars into their outfield between him and Betts would be wild.
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But Soto is worth every penny that a team will spend on him. Through his first 4 big league seasons, he has amassed 98 homeruns and 312 runs driven in. He’s slashing .301/.432/.550 with a ridiculous .981 so far as well. His 160 career OPS+ is right up there with Mike Trout’s first few years in the big leagues.
It would be a huge stretch and sacrifices would have to be made, but just imagine that outfield.
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Bowden is out of his mind. I think they should suggest cognitive tests for this nut case.
Harry, I don’t even know where to begin to describe how far out of reality Bowden is. Why this page was even written with what ‘thinks’ is beyond me. We do know that since Bowden nentioned this, we can be assured Soto won’t be signing here. Besides Soto’s FA is still far off somewhat.
Save the Cognitive tests for Brandon.
Huh lets say it was for Brandon Crawford for being a giants player (:
Why are you afraid to say Biden?
I’m being moderated for expressing my viewpoint, I don’t understand that.
I always get “moderated!”
I’d like some of what Bowden’s smoking. He’s never right and never close!
Interesting.
Message boards disappeared I guess because the teams got tired of moderating them. I’m afraid the same thing will happen to leaving a reply to these articles as well. Baseball’s cancel culture at it’s very best.
Those mlb.com articles were moderated by moderators disguised as regular fans
Ya think dic4life was a one of “them”?
You mean Bayside now….Do you guys remember end of summer when I called D4 on his being a Moderator? He wouldn’t answer, then he quickly tried to make me answer who my All time manager was. Told him i wouldn’t answer until he agreed that he wouldn’t just up and disappear at the end of the season and play off’s….I’d say he’s Brook, or one of brook’s choir boys…
Spot on Paul Harris…
That was the exact idea Boras was planting at the wildcard game. Planting Soto in the front row to show him off to the crowd and let him feel the atmosphere at the stadium. They keep printing money 500 mill won’t be bad. He is the big prize, and only a few markets can pull it off and LA is one of them.
No ballplayer is worth $500 million, but the Dodgers are one of the few teams able to pay it and Soto would bloom in LA.
That belief has been around a long time, and still, a team and fans find a way to make it so. The money will always be ridiculous, but ridiculous spending has become the norm and is no longer the anomaly.
How right you are NO ballplayer worth $500 M.
Eventually they will price themselves out of business. There will be a point where things like ticket prices, parking fees and concession prices will become unaffordable to attend a game. Billionaire owners didn’t get there by being stupid. The arrogance of agents like Boras will come back to bit them in the butt. Actually might be rather interesting to watch the greedy basta*** begging for a team to sign them and agents like Boras trying to BS their way out of no one getting a contract.
How much did the Dodgers pay Bauer? No complaints?
I didn’t approve at all the amount of $$ they paid Bauer. Was not and is not worth half of what they paid him and MLB is at fault for still letting Bauer get paid all that money while on administrative leave. But that basically falls on that horrific Commisioner who is nothing but a cancer to this game.
Every couple of weeks Bowden tosses out a Dodger “hot take.” Have any of them panned out???.
I wish he’d toss out a MikeTrout to L.A. rumor….If he really wanted see some sparks fly!!
$500 million is the new $250 million… just check the prices of ANYTHING, and compare it to 10 years ago.
Patrick Mahomes just signed a 500 million contract, Trout got over $400 million…the Superstars get Market price, and MLM owners, especially the Dodgers conglomerate of Billionaires, are used to getting what they want.
The Dodgers can outbid anybody, even the Yankees, and with Soto hitting third instead of Trea Turner, the lineup will be unstoppable, especially if Bellinger gets his mojo back.
The difference with the Mahomes contract is that he is ONLY guaranteed around $150 million, NFL has a better contract structure with their contracts and the real monies are in the signing bonus. Every contract that an MLB player signs is guaranteed in its entirety. Huge difference. No team, NOT EVEN THE DODGERS can support a lineup of $300 plus million dollar contracts. Just being able to out bid somebody does not in any way mean it makes sense. There is clearly a point where the money is going to dry up, yes again even for the Dodgers. Pretty hard to pay those salaries with empty seats in their stadiums.
Nothing you said in your comment suggest why the seats could be empty other than something you did not say about them somehow having to increase ticket prices as a result. They already make around 100 Mil over their total player salary thru exclusive TV rights (8 Bill / 25 Years = 320 Mil), without even selling a single ticket. So I don’t quite understand, how with all of the merchandise they sell in addition to online MLB subscription revenue and concessions, why you think they would have to translate very much at all to an increase in ticket prices?
I couldn’t have said it any better myself. Total team salary caps adjusted yearly for inflation like social security is the only way to go IMHO. Ballplayers with the financial ability to buy entire teams is proof enough that they are significantly overpaid. Perhaps there can be certain exceptions or insurance policies that cover players who suffer serious injuries such as those requiring Tommy John surgery, or a general fund maintained and disbursed by MLB for career ending injuries, but other then that, there has to be salary caps.
I know this is crazy but there should be a cap of what an individual player can make teams like the Dodgers and Yankees need to stop overpaying. Even Betts is way over paid just to play a gsme.
And the Irony is there’s College players that are just as good as these stock market players now in the Bigs. I think a Strike is needed to put these guys out of work and pay checks for a year or 2 and bring in Young hungry players. Scab the loafers that won’t bunt or take a pitch because it may devalue their STATS……
BTW, Kirk, it appears Bayside took some final cheap shots at us on the Co rrea page for no other reason to take offense at us being on the same page. He still is making a needless issue about my posts to Beth and she hasn’t been seen here since. All he wants to do it appears to to be confrontational.. But you may be correct that a lockout or strike might bring about changes in the game that are needed. Some player getting a $500 million deal? We both know that’s going way too far. Again, who could actually afford to go to a MLB now as it is? Not many.
Paul, I called Bayside out as well. Looks like he’s trying to character assassinate you for some reason. When he was D4, he had a man crush on Drrrrrrrrr, he liked the Braves, and bragged about being a old guy that knew Baseball history etc. Bayside forgot that D4 made 75,000,000 posts here, and loved to Intrude on everyone’s conversations , and we all knew his character. Bayside started the same routine quickly posting and intruding, just like your one with Beth. Looks like Bayside lured Beth character in, and tried to start confrontations out of nothing. There’s a Mod here that doesn’t like us…Back in the early days of this site as you recall they tried to ban Don Cato, he called them out. Same with me, they jammed my computer etc. and had me temporarily shut down..Nerds playing games… Anyways, yes I’m all for a strike. It would not only stop this insane money fiating, but it would save Drrrrrrrrr from himself, and since he’s not resigned and has only one year left, it would be a short season and we’d have a chance again..
Soto does not reach free agency until after the 2023 World Series. Ohtani too.
Let me please give you a few facts, first the $100 M gross profit you mention in todays contract market structures amounts to 3 contracts, THREE. Secondly on the necessity of raising ticket prices to meet the demands of higher contracts, in the years 2006 up to 2019 Dodger ticket prices went from an average of $20 up to an average of $42 per ticket. Thirdly the ticket prices in 2020 rose to a $71 average and in 2020 rose to an average of $81 per ticket. STILL THINK THEY ARE NOT GOING BE RAISING TICKET PRICES? Another major factor looming is the new CBA. There has been plenty of discussion about raising the salaries of the minor league players and increasing the minimum salaries of a major leaguer, which currently is just under $600,000. The ownership group of the Dodgers or any team are not in business to break even at best. The numbers being bantered around for Soto are $50 million per season, just how is that going to work. Trea’s contract expires in after the 2022 season and it is going to take something north of $350 million to resign him. No my friend the ticket pricing is going to escalate where it will be all but impossible for the average person to take their family to a game if it hasn’t already. You mentioned concessions, you think those prices are going to stagnate? Parking fees going to stagnate? Sure the Hollywood elite and the Silicon Valley folks are going to be able to purchase their tickets, but I repeat what about Joe the plumber who just wants to take his family to a game. Anyone who thinks the price of going to a Major League game is not going to sky rocket is in never never land.
Without a doubt Harry. Good research as well.. It’s just like Biden Socialism, and don’t think the inflation to buy fuel to go to the game is ever going to be under 5 bucks a gallon either. A strike needs to happen again and the New Trillion dollar spending will make it impossible to frequent the ball parks. Add also that one will be sick from the forced Jab, and it makes a live game painful to go watch to say the least.
Speculating on Soto’s contract 3 years from now is a complete waste of time. At this point a lockout on 12/1 is a certainty because the sides are so far apart and labor negotiations will dominate baseball news for months before the new CBA is agreed upon. If the luxury tax limit is raised in the new rules we can debate whether a 500M contract is even plausible.
I agree with a lot of my fellow Dodger fans have to say, but the Dodgers are in a very good healthy position , and to root for a lockout is, well to be blunt STUPID. I do believe the Dodgers will resign Trea Turner, and I do think the Dodgers will go after Soto hard, and I don’t believe he will get 500 million, and if their is one team that will make sure their fans can afford to go to a game it swill be the Dodgers, are fans are truly the best. I know every team says that but with us it is true. I do not care for TELEVISION Personality’s that keep saying that Trea , and Cory can not play together, I think thats BS, but I’am nervous that we will possibly lose Cory or CT3, we should be blessed that we are Dodger fans, I think the Dodgers will look at going after Trevor semien if we lose Seager, so we move Turner to short , and Semian to second, and we will improve are pitching staff, but honestly the one guy we cannot lose is CT3, don’t get me wrong I want seager back, but he may not be as important as CT3. One last thing to say I think we will end up with Juan Soto when he becomes available???
Hadn’t considered Semien, he’s a service player and not bad.