Soto, Snell, Other Stars Head Free Agent Market That Opens Monday

The Yankees hope to keep high-priced outfielder Juan Soto but have intense competition in the ... [+] free-agent market. (Photo by Quinn Harris/Getty Images)

And they’re off! Like thoroughbreds poised for the starting bell, more than 250 veteran baseball players can sign with new teams as free agents starting Monday.

Included among them are a two-time Cy Young Award winner, a former batting champion, and several All-Stars whose contracts expired or contained opt-out clauses.

The former batting king is Juan Soto, who just turned 26 and could be headed for a record contract – perhaps containing a long-term, up-front salary no player has received before.

Soto, widely considered the top available free agent, is coming off a 41-homer season that helped the Yankees win the American League pennant with the best record in the league. He’s virtually certain to the center of a bidding war likely to exceed a dozen suitors, according to The New York Post.

The Yankees want to keep Soto’s left-handed bat, which is perfectly suited to the dimensions of Yankee Stadium, but will have to out-bid both the crosstown Mets and the World Champion Los Angeles Dodgers, among other teams that think they can afford him.

All 30 clubs are well aware that the Dodgers won the most games – and the final round of the post-season – after spending more than $1 billion on free agents Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Teoscar Hernandez last winter.

Dodgers teammates congratulate Shohei Ohtani after a home run in Miami. The DH led the National ... [+] League in home runs, runs scored, and salary. (Photo by Sam Navarro/Getty Images)

Ohtani received a record $700 million, the biggest payday in professional sports, with all but $2 million deferred over its 10-year tenure.

Since the contracts of Ohtani and fellow Dodger All-Stars Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman are all deferred, the team can meet the financial demands of Soto and agent Scott Boras.

The California-based agent also represents Blake Snell, who left $30 million on the table when he declined the player option in his contract with the San Francisco Giants.

The star left-hander started slowly last season but warmed with the weather, eventually pitching the first no-hitter of his career in August. He finished with a 5-3 record, 3.12 earned run average, and 145 strikeouts in 104 innings over 20 starts.

A winner of Cy Young Awards in both leagues, Snell had a two-year contract with a $62 million guarantee, including a $17 million signing bonus. At age 32, he hopes to land a longer, more lucrative deal with another team.

That team could be the New York Mets, who need to replace star southpaw Sean Manaea after the pitcher also opted out of his contract over the weekend.

Max Fried, another veteran left-hander, is also expected to test the market after spending his entire career with the Atlanta Braves. Fried’s six shutout innings in the decisive Game 6 of the 2021 World Series capped an unexpected championship run for his team.

Veteran left-hander Max Fried, a lifelong member of the Atlanta Braves, is likely to leave as a free ... [+] agent this fall. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)

The pitching market could also include Corbin Burnes and Gerrit Cole, both former Cy Young Award winners. While the former is an unrestricted free agent, the latter would be retained by the Yankees if the team voids his opt-out by giving him an extension that would pay $36 million in 2025. They must decide by Monday.

Plenty of closers are available too. Tops on the list could be A.J. Minter, a hard-throwing left-hander who helped the Atlanta Braves win the 2021 World Series, although veteran right-hander David Robertson is also on the market.

The list of free agent position players includes a mix of those who contracts expired, who exercised opt-outs, or whose club options were rejected.

They range from star third baseman Alex Bregman, previously with the Houston Astros, to first baseman Anthony Rizzo, second baseman Jorge Polanco, and outfielder Joc Pederson, like Minter a hero of the ‘21 Braves whose white pearl necklace served as a good-luck charm.

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