Did Juan Soto just open up the door for Dodgers in free agency after All-Star Game antics?

The stars were out in Texas this week, and the Dodgers were the second most represented team behind the Phillies. Only four were actually able to participate — Mookie Betts and Tyler Glasnow both sat out with injuries — but Teoscar Hernández got the tap to start alongside Shohei Ohtani after Fernando Tatis Jr. had to bow out with a leg injury.

Hernández got some help on the way to his Home Run Derby win from former teammate Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who attended wearing Hernández's old Blue Jays jersey. The Dodgers-Hernández contingent at the Derby was also joined by Juan Soto in one of their hype-up huddles, which immediately invoked the same thought from Dodgers fans: these guys would look really good as teammates, wouldn't they?

Soto will be the most in-demand free agent of this coming offseason, and his contract has a very good chance of rivaling Ohtani's ten-year, $700 million deal. Although Soto's been doing very well with the Yankees and seems to like where he is, he did tell reporters that Ohtani is one of the players he'd most want to play with in his career, and he's almost certainly going to test free agent waters.

Soon-to-be free agent Juan Soto seemed to really like hanging out with the Dodgers during All-Star Week

Even before Soto was seen cavorting with the Dodgers and praising Ohtani, it was easy enough to assume that the Dodgers would at least get a bit of a temperature reading on Soto in his free agency. Very few teams are going to be able to afford him, and perhaps fewer are going to be willing to pay potentially record-setting amounts for him. The Dodgers definitely have the money and will be looking for short-term outfielders at the deadline who could easily hand their batons to a mega-star this offseason. Soto is not not an option.

Soto is represented by Scott Boras, who the Dodgers don't like to deal with, but the pain could be worth it to add one more generational talent to the lineup. (Not to mention that it would make Padres and Yankees fans absolutely lose their minds, which is always fun to watch).

There's every possibility that Soto's free agency will come down to the wire the same way the Boras Four's did this year, but Soto clearly likes hanging out with the Dodgers and said he wants to play with Ohtani. There's a very clear path forward to making that happen.