Report: Soto wants Ohtani-size deal in free agency

New York Yankees outfielder Juan Soto appears destined for free agency at the end of the season, and he apparently wants a megadeal similar to Shohei Ohtani's.

"He's got big eyes," a source told The Athletic's Brittany Ghiroli.

"I think he's after the AAV (average annual value) Ohtani has, without the deferrals."

Ohtani signed a 10-year, $700-million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers in December with $68 million deferred per year. His annual average salary for the purposes of calculating competitive balance tax payroll works out to $46,076,768, according to Cot's Baseball Contracts.

Soto and his agent, Scott Boras, will seek an agreement starting at $500 million, according to industry expectations cited by Ghiroli.

The 25-year-old Soto, who slashed .417/.517/.583 in his first six games with the Yankees, is expected to test free agency, general manager Brian Cashman said in February.

"We recognized when we went into this situation that the odds are that it's a one-year situation before free agency," Cashman said. "Certainly, that can change, I guess, but the odds are certainly against that. He's this close to free agency. I don't see too many things stopping him from hitting free agency."

Soto notably rejected a 15-year, $440-million extension from the Washington Nationals in 2022. Shortly after he turned down the offer, the Nationals traded him to the San Diego Padres. San Diego dealt Soto to the Yankees this past December after the three-time All-Star spent one-and-a-half seasons with the club.