The Juan Soto Sweepstakes is nearing its end, with bids reportedly over $600 million, and teams are preparing their final bids

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The Juan Soto draws have been nothing short of exhausting to follow, but not quite like you imagined. Neither Soto nor his agent Scott Boras has done anything wrong to this point. It is December 4th and we are nearing the end of these negotiations. Totally normal for a major league baseball offseason free agent. In fact, if this is done before the Winter Meetings, I would say this is completed much sooner than ever imagined. Remember how late the Blake Snell, Jordan Montgomery and Matt Chapman deals were completed last year? It’s a breeze compared to that shit. The difference is that we’re dealing with a generational superstar whose upcoming decision will shape the rest of free agency. That is the power he possesses. A player of his pedigree and caliber doesn’t come around very often at 26 with how difficult a journey it can be to get the right amount of service time to reach free agency. You have to debut in your teens, be a beast from the jump, avoid injuries, and resist the temptation to accept a big deal while either getting paid the league minimum or in your working years. Soto has checked all the boxes and now has the honor of choosing who will give him the biggest contract in baseball history. Because he is such a big deal, his team knows to get this done quickly as his decision affects how every other team goes about their offseason. Nobody moves before Juan, unless you’re Blake Snell and you get a huge contract from the Dodgers because they’re the Dodgers. Other than that, it’s a big hold up.

The exhausting part of all of this, as I mentioned above, has been the people on Twitter who are dying to break the news. They’re nobody who really has nothing to lose if they’re wrong, so they figure why not throw something out there. Some of those people are “beat writers” who are tied to teams but really don’t know anything. Randy Miller, I’m talking about you. It feels like every hour I go online and see a new report that people are latching on to that doesn’t hold any water.

“Red Sox have a deal done, announcement soon.”

“The Mets will go $50 million more than anyone else.”

“The Yankees are out, they won’t offer more than $550M”

“Savanah Bananas has Juan’s family hostage and won’t let them go unless he signs with them for life”

“The Blue Jays won’t give up and want the highest bid”

It doesn’t end.

For me, it’s Jeff Passan, Jack Curry and a little Ken Rosenthal when it comes to baseball news. Passan is the head of it all. His word means everything. Curry has always had the inside scoop on the Yankees and never spews bullshit. Cashman is in his ear, so when you hear it from him, it might as well be Brian in front of a microphone telling you what’s going on. Of course, Rosenthal is also up there. Everyone else is irrelevant to me when it comes to Juan’s decision.

With all that said, let’s talk about what we know and try to make sense of it all. Last offseason, Shohei Ohtani signed a record 10-year, $700 million contract. with the Dodgers, putting almost all of that on hold until he retires. The present value of that deal was worth $460 million, and I think it goes without saying that Soto will easily make that number. The question that remains is whether he will surpass the 700 plateau. Considering we’re dealing with Scott Boras’ ego, I’d say there’s a very good chance of that happening.

Ken Rosenthal reported last night that the current bids from competing teams have all passed the $600M level. Now, I can admit that this is not groundbreaking news. I’ve held off on blogging updates because there hasn’t been too much to go on so far. However, it looks like we’re going into the playoffs.

The clubs publicly known to be most serious about Soto are the New York Mets, New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Dodgers. The two people briefed on the talks said all remaining contenders have made offers above $600 million.

The expectation in the industry is that Soto will make his decision by the end of the winter meetings, which begin in Dallas on Sunday, and possibly even before the meetings start. But Boras said he doesn’t expect an “imminent” decision.

The above paragraph is information gathered from Ken’s sources as well as Scott Bora’s himself at Blake Snell’s Dodger press conference yesterday. Final bids appear to be on the way with a decision on the way, but nothing yet. The scariest thing about this time is that the announcement could come at any time. As someone who is usually awake until 2am and not exactly waking up at dawn, this time of year is a nightmare. You want to be awake when this shit goes down. Hell, two years ago during Judge’s circus, I fell to my knees in my living room when the “Arson Judge to the Giants” tweet came from Heyman. I was sound asleep in the morning when it was reported that he was staying with the Yankees. It is simply terrifying to get an ounce of rest when something so big is coming. I have a wedding on Saturday and know that crap will fall during the first dance. I’d have to be such an asshole, wouldn’t I?

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So what do we know outside of Ken’s report above? Not much else, unless you want to trick your brain into believing the wildcard reports. If that’s how you want to absorb the news, I can’t stop you, but it’s really best to wait for the big guns to announce before you lose your mind.

Here’s how my stupid brain analyzes this shitstorm. Soto goes for record money. The Yankees, Mets, Red Sox, Dodgers and Blue Jays are the teams in the competition. I’ve personally ruled out the Blue Jays in my head, but you can keep them alive if you want. They had to make an offer of a billion dollars to get him to play in Canada. If he goes there, I just laugh. I’d like to think the Dodgers don’t get Soto, but why should I? Shohei’s reprieve deal and global revenue stream make it all possible in this sick world we live in. Literally can never discard them. The Red Sox seem legitimately serious, but is it serious enough to come close to what the New York teams have to offer? I’m confident they’ll peak somewhere and turn to premier starting pitching (Fried), but if there’s ever a way for John Henry to get the fans back on his side, it’s to steal Juan Soto away from the New York. Jack Curry spoke Monday on the YES Network’s Hot Stove show and expressed a lot of confidence when it came to the Yankees’ pursuit of keeping Soto. He wouldn’t be talking like this if they topped out at $550 million, as Randy Miller reported.

The Yankees believe they have made him the priority he deserves to be and are doing everything they can to keep him. Encouraging no doubt, as many doubted Hal’s willingness to spend, but the only problem with that is that Steve Cohen has endless pockets and doesn’t care about luxury tax. He wants to make a statement here and outbid the evil empire. He can really put the Mets on the map as a force to be reckoned with if he gets his man.

It appears that Soto has all of these offers at a level where now it’s just up to him to decide where he really wants to be.

In my perfect world, Soto loved being a Yankee and just wanted them to hit a certain offer number. I’m not saying he’s taking a discount, but more that he’s always wanted to stay and just needs the Yankees to play ball with Cohen. Boras uses the Mets and everyone else to drive up Hal’s offer, and they get it done after 15 years, $675M. Something like that. If it’s about top dollar, he’s a Met just based on the fact that Cohen is a crazy man doing this as a hobby and not financial gain.

Hopefully we will have our answer before the end of the week. Maybe not in the middle of the night or while I’m at this wedding? You just know it will come on Saturday with my luck. Everyone is preparing.