The Giants are among the few teams expected to travel to Southern California this week Visit superstar free agent outfielder Juan SotoMLB insider Jon Heyman reported this on Monday.
The 26-year-old slugger is also associated with the Mets, Dodgers, Red Sox and Yankees, with whom he reached the World Series this fall. Heyman specifically identified the Blue Jays as a team that could target Soto, adding that two “mystery” teams are also expected to take on Soto.
The Giants have been battling the best free agents on the market in recent seasons, from Bryce Harper to Aaron Judge to Shohei Ohtani (not to mention the Carlos Correa fiasco). But with Buster Posey ersetzt Farhan Zaidi As president of baseball operations, your offer to superstar players will come from someone who has the most in common with them. Soto’s decision alone won’t be a referendum on this move, but it is Posey’s first chance to become the No. 1 free agent.
Last year, the Giants withdrew from the Ohtani sweepstakes to sign the Korean outfielder Jung Hoo Lee in Decemberthen four times Gold Glove winner Matt Chapman in March and twice at the end of the month Cy-Young-Gewinner Blake Snell. Snell opted out as a sophomore They announced their contract last week, and Posey was a key negotiator in signing Chapman to a six-year extension in September.
The Giants’ expected addition to Soto’s meeting agenda comes less than a week after The Athletic’s Andrew Baggarly reported that the Giants planned to reduce their payroll for the 2025 season. Signing Soto — estimated to be worth more than $50 million a year — would apparently run counter to that plan.
Posey said at general manager meetings last week that he was focused on adding a shortstop this offseason and using rookie Tyler Fitzgerald elsewhere on the field. Pursuing Soto wouldn’t fill that void, but with Mike Yastzemski and LaMonte Wade both on the arbitration roster, they could have an outfield spot open for the four-time Silver Slugger.
