Juan Soto chase could send Dodgers into three-team bidding war for star free agent

If you're confused about where the Dodgers stand in the Juan Soto hunt, you're not alone. What we can discern based on what insiders have shared is that the Dodgers are still in, but their chances of actually landing him look slim, as their offer has not exceeded $700 million, while both the Mets and Yankees are said to have offered $710-730 million. The Red Sox and Blue Jays are purportedly also in a $700 million-adjacent range.

Jon Heyman noted that Soto could be inclined to take less money from the Dodgers to play for a super team that already has the highest odds of winning the World Series next year, but the general vibe is that he'll stay on the east coast and probably in somewhere in New York City.

Soto has stalled the markets for pretty much all of the other top position players on the market, with Willy Adames the first big domino to fall on Saturday, but most others have yet to move.

That means the floodgates haven't fully opened for Teoscar Hernández, the No. 2 outfielder on the market. The Dodgers were always going to face competition to get him back in LA, but the longer they waffle between priorities, the steeper that hill is going to get. Both the Red Sox and Yankees are said to be in pursuit.

Red Sox, Yankees expected to give Dodgers some competition for Teoscar Hernández

The Dodgers might still be holding onto what looks like the increasingly slim chance that they'll get Soto, which could be stalling talks with Hernández. Both Boston and New York are certainly looking at him as a consolation prize for their outfield corners if both lose Soto, so they won't make a move on Hernández until Soto makes a decision, but they could be (and probably are) preparing at least preliminary offers in the interim.

Noah Camras of Dodgers Nation reported that while LA and Hernández have made progress on a new deal, the "hold-up is on the Dodgers' end," and it's hard to imagine what that hold-up might be if it's not Soto. Even if Soto takes a smaller amount of money to play in LA, and even if that deal includes massive deferrals, getting him could still preclude signing Hernández.

Move it or lose it, Dodgers. As much as Hernández has reportedly been prioritizing talks with the Dodgers, if the Red Sox or Yankees don't get Soto, they're going to throw everything they can at Hernández and could even succeed in tempting him away.