The Dodgers are hesitant to spend big money to sign Juan Soto for fear of ‘humiliating’ Shohei Ohtani, DailyMail.com has discovered.
The former Yankees standout is in the focus of a $600 million bidding war, with the Boston Red Sox believed to be ahead of the Mets and Blue Jays in the race to sign the 26-year-old talent.
Soto just reached the World Series with the Yankees, but Los Angeles defeated them in a dramatic finish to the season.
According to DailyMail.com, the Dodgers were the first to pursue Soto, but Los Angeles is hesitant to spend the money.
Last year, Ohtani signed the largest contract in MLB history, a 10-year, $700 million deal to relocate to Los Angeles.
‘The Dodgers had the best chance to obtain Juan, but the franchise does not want to spend more money on Juan than they did on Shohei,’ a source said.
‘They believe that would disgrace Shohei, because the Dodgers regard him as their most important signing ever.
‘The Dodgers do not want to offer more money for a player than they did for Shohei, and they prefer to promote Juan’s chances of winning numerous World Series over financial benefit.’
However, despite the 26-year-old’s desire to stay in New York, the Boston Red Sox are presently considered the favorites to sign Soto.
‘The Red Sox are the front-runners for his services since they provide the most money and are constantly in contention to win,’ the insider added.
‘He is giving the Yankees every opportunity to make him an offer he can’t refuse, but it appears that the Red Sox will be the ones to offer him the most years and money… moreover he would be the team’s face, something he is really interested in.’
They went on to say that Juan enjoyed his time in New York and would like to continue there, either with the Yankees or the Mets.
‘In his heart, he wants to stay with the Yankees, but because this is a business, the Red Sox and Mets have the best chances of signing him.
‘Signing with the Mets or the Red Sox immediately makes them his club; signing with the Yankees remains Aaron Judge’s team, and there is a lot of stress playing with the Yankees since it is all about winning or losing.’
According to DailyMail.com, the Blue Jays are still interested in acquiring Soto, but Toronto will have a difficult time convincing him to cross the border into Canada.
‘Signing with the Blue Jays would only work if they offered him an exorbitant salary – more than $700 million – because with the currency rates, it just isn’t an appealing spot to go to because he would be leaving a lot of money on the table,’ the person stated.
‘And the Blue Jays are unlikely to be able to sign additional players to help the team win.’
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