The Royals reached Juan Soto this offseason, writes Jon Heyman of the New York Post. It doesn’t appear the negotiations have gotten far, as Heyman unsurprisingly added that Soto’s price is out of Kansas City’s comfort zone.
At the start of the preseason, Heyman reported that small market teams were among the 11 clubs that would approach Soto. The Rays were quickly reported as one of those favorites, and it appears the Royals were another. In any case, there is nothing to suggest that Tampa Bay or Kansas City have shown more than interest. The teams known to have met with Soto — the Mets, Yankees, Blue Jays, Red Sox and Dodgers — are all big-market franchises. The Phillies had not scheduled a meeting with Soto as of Tuesday, although they are expected to sit down with the star outfielder and agent Scott Boras at some point.
The Royals had an incredible spending spree last winter. Kansas City has committed more than $110MM in free agency, written deals Seth Lugo again Michael Wacha. Those contracts worked incredibly well. Lugo finished second in AL Cy Young voting. Wacha continued to post quality numbers all around. He opted out of the second season of his original KC contract before returning to the organization on a three-year, $51MM deal.
Kansas City’s biggest investment came on the eve of Spring Training, as they extended the franchise’s cap Bobby Witt Jr. with an 11-year contract that guaranteed him about $289MM. Witt turned into a successful MVP showing as Kansas City surprisingly snapped a nine-year drought.
Witt’s contract is the largest in franchise history. Soto’s asking price is more than double that. While they won’t land a free agent on the market, the Royals can get involved with anyone else in the outfield. Anthony Santander, Teoscar Hernández, Tyler O’Neill again Jurickson Profar people looking for three or four year contracts. It would be a surprise if anyone from that group reaches nine figures, although Santander has an outside chance. KC’s corner outfield tandem of MJ Melendez again Hunter Renfroe is too weak for an opponent, making that area an obvious place for the front office to improve.
Source link
