Yankees’ rival revealed as Surprise Mystery Team in Juan Soto Sweepstakes

A surprising new team has entered the chatter in pursuit of superstar outfielder Juan Soto.

According to MLB insider Jon Heyman of The New York PostThe Tampa Bay Rays are the seventh known suitor to express interest in Soto.

Per Heyman, the Rays appear to be in seventh place for Soto behind these six major salary cap clubs: New York Yankees, New York Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers, Toronto Blue Jays, Boston Red Sox and San Francisco Giants.

“For now, Tampa has to be seen as a distant seventh on the list, as it’s hard to imagine them competing with the biggest markets in baseball, starting with both New York teams, but nowhere near ending there,” Heyman wrote.

While the Rays aren’t considered serious contenders to land Soto, they made a 10-year, $300 million offer to Aaron Judge back in the 2022-2023 offseason, as the superstar told Kristie Ackert of The Tampa Bay Times last summer.

Judge eventually re-signed with the Yankees for nine years, $360 million, but the Rays made a respectable offer in the process.

Could Tampa do the same with Soto? That seems unlikely, as Soto looks set to land either the richest contract in baseball history or the second-highest grade. Soto is rumored to be seeking a $700 million dealbut could end up in the $600-650 million range.

So far, the Soto sweepstakes appears to be a two-team race between the Yankees and Mets. The Bronx Bombers would love to bring back Soto after he helped them reach the World Series for the first time since 2009. But the Mets have owner Steve Cohen trying to build a sustainable winner.

Soto, who just turned 26, is the type of player any organization can build around for the future. The young star is on a Hall of Fame trajectory and will likely sign a historic deal this offseason with several teams competing for his services.