"Six hundred million dollars for 15 years."
The estimated ransom of Juan Soto (26, New York Yankees), the biggest fish in the 2024-2025 FA market, came out once again. Blitzer Report expected Soto to sign a 15-year, $600 million contract on the 18th (Korea time). It is the second-largest contract ever after Shohei Ohtani (30, LA Dodgers), who signed a 10-year, $700 million contract.
In other words, Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels, 33, who signed a 14-year, $426.5 million contract, is expected to fall to the third place after Ohtani and Soto. In addition, he has the same annual average of 40 million dollars as Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees, who signed a nine-year, $360 million contract.
AAV's best is 70 million dollars for Ohtani. Of course, the actual AAV is only 2 million dollars considering the 680 million dollar dipper. AAV No. 2 is Justin Verlander (41, FA) and Max Scherzer (40, New York Mets) who cost 43.33 million dollars. Although Soto will sign a huge contract that will be recorded in major league history anyway, he is not expected to finish first in both total and AAV.
Blitzer Report said, "Soto will be paid a hefty salary this winter because of his age and power. Although Ohtani's megadeal cannot be achieved, he will be paid a different level of salary than any other FA player before him. Trout was two years older than Soto when he signed a $426.5 million contract."
Soto boasts 201 home runs in his career, but he is an OPS type slugger with an on-base percentage of 0.421, and an OPS of 0.953. He hits a lot of home runs, but rarely strikes out, and often gets on base. He is even younger. He is quite durable. He is the type that is unlikely to be a free agent.
The prevailing view is that Soto will be a race between the Yankees and the New York Mets. Blitzer Report predicted a 15-year, 600-million-dollar contract on the day, but did not mention his team. However, if the Mets increase the amount, it is expected to reach more than 600 million dollars.
"Soto's AAV of $40 million is the same as Judge's," Blitzer Report said. "Considering Soto's age, it makes sense to be guaranteed several more years than Judge's nine years. This winter is the second time ever that a contract worth more than $500 million is expected."
In eight postseason games, Soto had eight hits in 28 at-bats for a batting average of 0.286 with two home runs, five RBIs and five runs scored with an OPS of 0.953. This is his third postseason as an individual following 2019 when he was playing for the Washington Nationals and 2022 when he was playing for the San Diego Padres. He is aiming to win his first World Series title. 먹튀검증