Report: Blue Jays to meet with Juan Soto this week

The Toronto Blue Jays will soon be making a pitch to the most sought-after free agent of the winter.

ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports that the Blue Jays will meet with Juan Soto and his camp in California this week. Passan adds that the Blue Jays will be the first team Soto meets with.

Other teams scheduled to meet with Soto include the Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees and New York Mets, Passan reports, while the Los Angeles Dodgers are not expected to enter the sweepstakes one year after landing Shohei Ohtani.

Soto, 26, is among the most accomplished young free agents to ever hit the open market in baseball. In seven MLB seasons with the Nationals, Padres and Yankees, Soto has 201 home runs and a 160 career OPS+, the eighth-highest among players 25 and under with over 3,000 plate appearances. Soto is a finalist for the 2024 AL MVP Award after hitting .288/.419/.569 with 41 home runs for the Yankees.

Soto’s age and résumé have him on track to earn one of the largest and longest contracts in MLB history. Passan reports that Soto is expected to make a decision before the end of the year, possibly as soon as the Winter Meetings, which begin on Dec. 9.

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