A majority of the reports have indicated the Juan Soto sweepstakes will largely take place between the two powerhouse New York teams: Steve Cohen's New York Mets and Hal Steinbrenner's New York Yankees.
While these reports are likely to indicate what we'll see in free agency, there's always a chance that a dark horse team steps into the sweepstakes and takes the superstar away.
Whether it be by offering a crazy contract with hundreds of millions of dollars of deferred money or by offering a situation Soto can't pass up, we can't rule out the other 28 teams outside of New York just yet.
Toronto Blue Jays
The Blue Jays have been connected to Soto for a little while now, but they're typically seen as a few steps behind their AL East rival Yankees.
Toronto will need to extend its superstar first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s contract before it can begin throwing $600 million at Soto. But there is a world where Toronto pays up to steal Soto from the Bronx.
As long as Cohen and Steinbrenner don't venture into the $700 million range, Toronto could be a dark horse team to bring Soto to town.
San Diego Padres
Remember the deferred money that I spoke to above?
If any team is going to offer that this year, it's the Padres. San Diego has to compete with the Los Angeles Dodgers, who gave $680 million in deferred money to Shohei Ohtani last offseason.
The Padres have a ton of money locked up in their current roster, which is where the deferred money comes in. San Diego is a place Soto has been and has played already.
As much as the fans hate it, the Dodgers may have started the trend of giving out deferred money and dealing with the consequences later. If you can't beat them, join them.
Los Angeles Dodgers
You can't have a discussion about a top free agent without mentioning the Dodgers. If a player's top priority is winning, the Dodgers can offer that. If their top priority is money, the Dodgers can offer that, too.
With Ohtani earning $2 million a year for the next nine years, Los Angeles, theoretically, should be able to offer Soto a contract that rivals that of the Mets or Yankees.
A front-loaded contract that pays Soto a boatload of money while Ohtani earns $2 million a year isn't out of the picture. If it's possible, the Dodgers will try to make it happen.
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