The Philadelphia Phillies may have thrown in the towel in their pursuit of superstar free agent Juan Soto.
Phillies bow out of race for superstar FA Juan Soto
USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reported on Monday morning that the only teams realistically in the mix for Soto are the New York Yankees, New York Mets, Toronto Blue Jays, and Boston Red Sox (h/t Peter Chawaga of The Sporting News). As for the Phillies, he revealed this bombshell:
“Oh, and after all of speculation that the Philadelphia Phillies are involved in the Soto sweepstakes? They haven’t had a single conversation with Boras to express interest in Soto,” Nightengale wrote.
“The Mets are the clear-cut favorite, executives say, simply because they don’t believe there’s a soul who will outbid owner Steve Cohen, while Yankees have a price in mind that they don’t want to exceed.”
Phillies’ calling cards for Soto not as strong as field
The Phillies have been tabbed by many as having an outside shot of landing Soto for several reasons. He has a history of playing with Phillies superstars Bryce Harper and Trea Turner on the Washington Nationals. Another is the connection he has with Phillies hitting coach Kevin Long, who he won a World Series playing under in Washington, next to Turner as well in 2019. Philadelphia’s championship-caliber roster and location on the East Coast were also labeled as attractive to the 26-year-old.
Nevertheless, the Mets are looked at in a favorable light because they’ll likely offer Soto the largest contract of all his suitors. New York’s team-friendly culture is also attractive for the Dominican talent. The Yankees have a great chance to retain Soto as well, as they came within striking distance of winning the 2024 World Series before losing to the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers.
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The Phillies may look for OF upgrades elsewhere
The Phillies are actively looking to revamp their outfield ahead of 2025. There isn’t a player on the open market who could do that for the ball club better than the reigning five-time Silver Slugger Award winner who notched an MLB-best 289 putouts, nine assists, and a .993 fielding percentage out of right field in 2024.
Nevertheless, it appears that Philadelphia’s front office is taking a pragmatic approach. They will likely look elsewhere for upgrades in the outfield.
