Report: Blue Jays' offer to Soto below $700M

The Toronto Blue Jays were among the finalists for Juan Soto's services despite tabling an offer to the superstar that was below $700 million, sources told Sportsnet's Shi Davidi and Ben Nicholson-Smith.

The exact number of the Blue Jays' final offer is unclear, and some of the numbers being thrown around are quite varied. Buzz at the winter meetings suggested the Blue Jays may have bid as high as $760 million, only $5 million shy of the New York Mets' winning offer, according to Jon Heyman of the New York Post. The Mets were even thought to be behind the Blue Jays in terms of money heading into the weekend, Heyman notes.

However, that figure might be inflated. The Blue Jays had permission from ownership to up their offer to Soto, but general manager Ross Atkins and president Mark Shapiro kept to their internal valuations of the four-time All-Star, Davidi and Nicholson-Smith report.

This marks the second straight year in which the Blue Jays fell short in their quest to land a franchise-altering free-agent superstar. Last winter, the team was among the finalists for Shohei Ohtani before he opted to sign a $700-million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Atkins, entering his 10th season as the Blue Jays' GM, offered some insight into the Blue Jays' pursuit of Soto. He said star first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr., a pending free agent who's friends with Soto, was not involved in the team's pitch, and he saluted ownership for its help during the recruiting process.

"I think we were just really fortunate to have the support that we had," Atkins said Monday, per Davidi and Nicholson-Smith. "He's a really good player, a really good person on and off the field, so he had a lot of interest. We were grateful to be a part of the process."

Soto reportedly signed a professional sports-record 15-year, $765-million contract with the Mets after spending one season across town with the New York Yankees. The Yankees' final offer to Soto was reportedly for 16 years and $760 million.

The Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers were the other two finalists for Soto's services. Boston's final bid was for around $700 million over 15 years, MassLive's Sean McAdam reported Sunday. Details of the Dodgers' offer are not yet known.