What Should You Make of Report Linking Phillies to Juan Soto?

Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported Sunday that "baseball executives" believe that the Phillies will be one of five teams to make bids on Juan Soto in free agency this upcoming offseason. The other four are the incumbent New York Yankees, along with the Toronto Blue Jays, San Francisco Giants and New York Mets. 

The Phillies, of course, employ a few notable teammates of Soto in Bryce Harper, Trea Turner and Kyle Schwarber. They also have a president of baseball operations in Dave Dombrowski and managing partner in John Middleton that are no stranger to making investments in superstar players. 

With that said, while the Phillies could dip their toes in the water on Soto, it's difficult to imagine them landing the four-time All-Star without shedding major salary elsewhere. The Phillies already have $222.8 million in salary commitments for 2025, which Spotrac says is the most among all teams. Soto is expected to command at least $500 million in free agency, so unless Middleton and Phillies ownership decide to altogether stop caring about luxury tax penalties, it's a bit hard to see how Soto would fit from that sense. 

Juan Soto bat flip was absolutely electric 😤

(via @MLB) pic.twitter.com/WipidjTiLD

— FanDuel (@FanDuel) September 12, 2024

There is a reality here that Soto is a Scott Boras client, and Boras clients almost always go to the highest bidder. The four other teams mentioned probably are all more motivated to make an investment on a player like Soto than the the Phillies. But having as many teams in the mix as possible would help Boras to maximize the total amount Soto signs for. 

Perhaps this is outdated thinking considering George Steinbrenner passed away in 2010, but it still feels unthinkable that the Yankees would acquire a player like Soto, see him have a massive season and then let him walk in free agency. Soto will turn 26 in October, and has 39 home runs, 101 RBIs and 119 walks. For the Yankees — the MLB team most associated with money — to let a player like that walk, it's just hard to envision. Soto also appears to have enjoyed hitting at Yankee Stadium and sharing a lineup with Aaron Judge. 

If the Phillies are swept in the NLDS, perhaps all bets are off. But if you're inclined to put money on these sorts of things, the Phillies probably aren't a wise bet.