3 Scott Boras clients Dodgers can’t pursue next winter

Juan Soto

Soto will only spend a year with the Yankees before he heads into free agency and easily becomes the hottest commodity on the market. An early contract prediction from The Athletic already put him somewhere around 14 years and $540 million with whichever team he signs with next. The Yankees could extend him sometime this season to avoid having to fight for him in free agency, but extensions aren't really part of the Boras playbook. Soto is more likely to become a free agent and let multiple teams, including the Yankees, fall all over themselves to woo him.

The Dodgers could be among them; Jason Heyward and Teoscar Hernández's contracts will both be up, leaving two potential spots in the corners of the outfield that Soto could fill. There would also be no greater joy than getting a beloved former Padre in Dodger blue. However, Soto will be incredibly expensive, and even despite the endless cash the Dodgers seemed to dole out this year, it seems unlikely that they'll be able to accommodate two players they've pledged $500+ million to, even with the benefit of Shohei Ohtani's deferrals.

They could try to go the deferral route with Soto, too; Boras isn't necessarily opposed to negotiating for deferred payments with his clients, given the fact that Stephen Strasburg will keep getting paid by the Nationals until 2030. However, it seems likely that the Dodgers won't be in on Soto at all. They'll still owe Mookie Betts $220 million after the 2024 season, Freddie Freeman $81 million, and will likely have their hands full with Walker Buehler, either trying to extend him or woo him back to LA for a good deal of money.