There are conflicting reports about the San Francisco Giants' interest in superstar free agent Juan Soto.
The 26-year-old outfielder was reported to have meetings on the books with the Toronto Blue Jays, New York Yankees, New York Mets, Boston Red Sox and in Southern California (where his agent, Scott Boras is based) by Jeff Passan of ESPN.
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Monday, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported the Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers were meeting with Soto in California, as well. However, on Tuesday Jayson Stark of The Athletic reported the Giants do not currently have a meeting set up with Soto.
Juan Soto news:
The Giants currently do not have a meeting set up with Juan Soto, team sources tell The Athletic.
What that means as far as the Giants' interest in Soto is not clear. It's at least somewhat telling that four teams — the Blue Jays, Red Sox, Mets and Yankees — are sending representatives across the country to meet with the talented outfielder.
In the Mets' case, their contingent is rumored to include shortstop Francisco Lindor. The Yankees are sending manager Aaron Boone — despite having employed Soto for the past year.
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San Francisco has in the past struggled to land marquee free agents, despite their best efforts to lure stars like Shohei Ohtani, Bryce Harper and Aaron Judge. They recently hired franchise icon Buster Posey to replace Farhan Zaidi as president of baseball operations.
In his first offseason in his new role, Posey's decision whether or not to go all-in for Soto represents his first big test.
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"All-in" might be what it takes to sign the 26-year-old.
Soto hit a career-high 41 home runs for the Yankees in 2024, helping lead the team to its first World Series appearance in 15 years. He is widely expected to command the most lucrative contract of any free agent this offseason — if not ever — after scoring an American League-leading 128 runs, driving in 109, and reaching base at a .419 clip in his first season in the Bronx.
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The Giants could use help on the pitching and hitting sides after getting outscored, and finishing with a losing record, for the second straight season.
According to FanSided's Robert Murray, the Giants are again determined to make a splash.
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"I would say they're open, like especially if they're in the Juan Soto sweepstakes, they clearly have the budget to add a big salary," Murray said on The Baseball Insiders podcast with Adam Weinrib. "If they're going to try to get a meeting they clearly have some flexibility."
Stark's report suggests they are focusing on free agents other than Soto — for now.
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