Jul 12, 2024; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; New York Yankees outfielder Juan Soto (22) runs to the dugout before the first inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
Scott Boras updated the Juan Soto sweepstakes Tuesday as one of his other top clients — two time Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell — was introduced as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
"He’s begun the process of eliminating teams," Boras said. "Juan is a very methodical thinker, so we’ll see, but I don’t think anything is imminent in the near future."
Increasingly, though, it doesn't appear that the Phillies will be a team that Soto has to do much thinking about at all.
The trio of Ken Rosenthal, Evan Drellich and Brendan Kuty of The Athletic reported Tuesday evening that the bidding for Soto's services "has surpassed" $600 million. How many of the five teams believed to have met with Soto — the incumbent New York Yankees, Dodgers, Boston Red Sox, New York Mets and Toronto Blue Jays — have topped $600 million is unclear. We also don't know if the team(s) who have exceeded $600 million have included any deferrals.
Noticeably absent from the sweepstakes have been the Phillies. MLB.com's Todd Zolecki reported last week that the Phillies still expected to meet with Soto and Boras. It seems possible that with last week being a holiday and Soto eliminating teams this week that the Phillies might have run out of time, though.
To that end, Matt Gelb of The Athletic added this onto the story from his colleagues referenced above:
Phillies never met with Juan Soto and are not among the teams who have made an offer to the star outfielder. More on the sweepstakes, which has reached $600 million, in this @theathletic.bsky.social story: www.nytimes.com/athletic/596...
— Matt Gelb (@mattgelb.bsky.social) December 4, 2024 at 9:15 AM
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There appears to be some finality to what Gelb is saying, even though Soto hasn't yet picked a team. Could the Phillies come in at the 11th hour and try to top whatever the biggest offer is? Sure. But if all the other teams took the time to meet with Soto and have gone through multiple rounds of offers, it would be a pretty curious strategy from the Phillies to sit that part out if they were serious about signing the five-time Silver Slugger Award winner. Even if the Phillies presented the highest offer, why would Soto feel comfortable signing with a team he didn't even meet with?
Phillies managing partner John Middleton may have tipped his hand last month when he publicly said that he believed Soto would likely land with one of the two New York teams.
"I'm afraid Juan Soto wants to be in New York, and I don't mind being a stalking horse, " Middleton said, according to Conor Smith of The Philadelphia Inquirer.
"At some point, if Dave and I get that feeling, we'll probably say 'You know what, we're not going to win this' because we've both been the stalking horse before. And if I were an agent, I would do it too. It's perfectly good strategy. I mean, it's smart. But at the end of the day, I just think he likes New York."
All that makes sense from Middleton. Still, his comment led you to believe that the Phillies would probably meet with Soto and present some sort of offer, even if it was just so they could say they did it. For the Phillies to not even meet with Soto would be surprising. It's hard to believe Boras wouldn't have pushed for a meeting given how many deals he's reached with the Phillies in recent years.
From @TimKellySports: 4 Phillies Storylines That Could Have Resolutions During MLB Winter Meetingshttps://t.co/nzxefuUHUb
