Sources with knowledge of the bidding described them as making the shortlist of finalists with an offer that was under $700 million for the superstar outfielder, who agreed to a record $765-million, 15-year deal with the New York Mets on Sunday night.
As the pursuit of Soto intensified, the Blue Jays were often perceived to be among the most aggressive suitors for the 26-year-old free agent. Industry gossip about an offer as high as $760 million circulated Monday in the lobby of the Hilton Anatole, home to baseball’s Winter Meetings.
But that speculation seems to have been overblown and while the Blue Jays are believed to have had the authorization of ownership to go further for Soto, it appears that the front office held steady to their valuations as the final-day push by both the Mets and Yankees eliminated the other contenders.
In landing Soto, the Mets fended off a Yankees offer of $760 million over 16 years, according to Jon Heyman of The New York Post. The Boston Red Sox were also up over $700 million, though not by much, another industry source told Sportsnet. It’s unclear what the Dodgers’ final bid was.
Speaking to reporters Monday after falling short on a franchise-altering free agent for the second straight year, Atkins praised ownership at Rogers Communications Inc., which also owns Sportsnet, but declined to get into details of the Blue Jays’ offer.
“I think we were just really fortunate to have the support that we had,” Atkins said. “He’s a really good player, a really good person on and off the field, so he had a lot of interest. We were grateful to be a part of the process.”
Notably, the Blue Jays didn’t utilize Vladimir Guerrero Jr., the pending free-agent superstar who is friends with Soto, in their meeting with the outfielder. Atkins explained that the team “didn’t ask him to go to an unnatural extent, or have him be a part of a presentation.”
“But I’m sure,” he added, “that because of their relationship, there was influence.”
Manager John Schneider, on the other hand, was a part of the Blue Jays’ meeting with Soto and enjoyed seeing a different side of a hitter who batted .333/.482/.619 with three homers and 10 RBIs in 12 games against his pitching staff this past season.
“He’s a sharp dude,” said Schneider. “There were some pretty deliberate questions — where does my family sit, when do you open the roof, what’s your farm system like? It’s not a surprise that he’s gotten the contract he got, albeit it’s really, really big. Players like that, he’s buttoned up on the field and off. So it was really in-depth, obviously had a lot of things that he wanted to uncover about us. There’s a reason he’s that good.”
Though some believe Soto intended to remain in New York all along, the Blue Jays felt they made enough of an impression to be a legitimate consideration for the four-time all-star.
Along the way, Atkins said they were encouraged by Soto’s “genuine preparation” and “the questions that he had about organization, city, country, plans… and as things progressed, we felt as though we were a great landing spot for Juan Soto and grateful to be in that process.”
Despite the pursuit of Soto, the Blue Jays have lots of work ahead as they attempt to turn around a roster that finished 74-88 in 2024. While they can’t simply reallocate the money they would have spent on him to other players (just like they couldn’t a year ago when Shohei Ohtani chose the Los Angeles Dodgers), they still have an estimated $30-$40 million to work with.
“It’s not A or B where there’s one box or another box,” is the way Atkins described the payroll situation. “Every player, every acquisition is unique. I would say those two are incredibly unique. Could there be other avenues where our opportunities to be a bit more nimble or agile with our payroll could present themselves? Yes. But we try to operate in the most efficient way possible, with a set of parameters to start, and then present opportunities as they come.”
