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With Juan Soto signing a 15-year, $765 million contract with the New York Mets, the free agent market for outfielders Anthony Santander and Teoscar Hernandez is expected to heat up quickly, with four teams specifically in the running.
The New York Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays, Boston Red Sox, and Los Angeles Dodgers are the four teams that were in the running for Soto, and will be the focus for teams willing to spend big on an outfield bat, according to Jon Morosi of MLB Network.
Of course, the Yankees will be mentioned with both players after losing Soto to the Mets. It will be interesting to see if they have a preference for either player. Previous reporting indicated that the Blue Jays prefer Anthony Santander over their former player in Hernandez, while the Red Sox prefer Hernandez over Santander.
The Dodgers have an existing relationship with Hernandez, and even after signing Michael Conforto, they are said to be pursuing a reunion with Hernandez. It would not be a surprise if he returned to Los Angeles after having a great season and winning a World Series with the team in 2024.
Who could sign next after Juan Soto?
With the Mets landing Soto, the rest of the offseason is likely to get moving soon. Obviously, the outfielder in Santander and Hernandez are candidates to sign soon. However, there are several other players who could be next up as the teams who lost out on Soto pivot to their backup plans.
The top two free agent starting pitchers are Corbin Burnes and Max Fried. It has been reported that those two would wait for Soto to sign. Top remaining infielders in Pete Alonso and Alex Bregman are still available as well. A team like the Yankees could use the money they had for Soto on one of those players, and they reportedly had zoom meetings with Burnes and Fried earlier in the offseason.
It will be interesting to see the next names that come off the board, and where they end up playing for 2025.
