The Plan B for MLB Teams That Lose Juan Soto Contract Bidding War

According to both Randy Miller of NJ Advance Media and Jon Morosi of MLB.com, five teams submitted offers for superstar outfielder Juan Soto last week—the incumbent New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays, Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets.

It goes without saying that only one of those teams will ultimately sign Soto, who B/R has projected to land a 14-year, $658 million deal that includes the chance to opt out after the 2030 season.

There isn't another player like Soto that teams will be able to pivot to. Given what he's accomplished and that he's still only 26 years old, this is the type of player who only becomes a free agent once every 20 years. Just because these five teams are willing to spend $500+ million on Soto doesn't necessarily mean they will utilize that total amount of money on other players if they don't land the five-time Silver Slugger Award winner.

Still, four out of these five teams—and perhaps another who still seems to be somewhat in the mix—will have to pivot once Soto signs elsewhere. Here's a look at what the Plan Bs could be for all the perceived Soto suitors.

Plan B: Take money earmarked for Soto and spread some of it around to fix multiple issues

The Yankees made it to the World Series with Soto in 2024, but that took Giancarlo Stanton turning back the clock in the ALCS and Gleyber Torres getting hot after a disappointing regular season. For much of the year, the Yankees' lineup was overly reliant on Soto and Aaron Judge.

Re-signing Soto—who figures to be one of the best hitters in baseball for at least the next decade—should be Plan A, B, C and D. But there are also other holes to fix, and if Soto leaves, the Yankees can spread some of those resources around.

If Soto signs with the crosstown rival Mets, it would be great gamesmanship by general manager Brian Cashman to turn around and sign Pete Alonso to plug the team's hole at first base.

Torres is a free agent—one who could potentially benefit from a change of scenery. If he departs, Jazz Chisholm Jr. could shift back to his natural position of second base. But that would leave the Yankees with a hole at third base, where they could consider Alex Bregman or Willy Adames.

Obviously, the Yankees will need to add in the outfield if they don't bring Soto back, especially given that Alex Verdugo is also a free agent. Anthony Santander, Teoscar Hernández, Tyler O'Neill and Jurickson Profar are all free-agent outfielders who could make sense as fallback options.

Plan B: Sign your own stars

It's kind of difficult to sell Soto on going to Toronto—as much as the city has going for it—when you're coming off a last-place finish in the AL East and your two biggest stars are entering contract years.

Yes, to compete in 2025, the Blue Jays will have to make additions. Perhaps reuniting with the aforementioned Hernández—although he seemingly has a ton of suitors—would make sense. So would making multiple impact additions to the bullpen.

But the biggest priority for president Mark Shapiro and general manager Ross Atkins should be to figure out what the future is with first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and shortstop Bo Bichette. Both can be free agents after the 2025 season, and it would arguably be organizational malpractice to carry both into their contract years.

Guerrero is coming off of a season in which he hit .323 with 30 home runs, 103 RBI and a .940 OPS, en route to finishing sixth in AL MVP voting. Given that he's only entering his age-26 season, re-signing him feels like a no-brainer for the Blue Jays.

Maybe it makes a bit more sense to let things play out with Bichette, who was limited to just 81 games in 2024 and posted only a .598 OPS. Letting things play out with him would be a lot easier if they first sign Guerrero long-term.

If the Blue Jays don't believe they will ultimately be able to re-sign one or both—particularly Guerrero—it would behoove them to gauge the trade market. The return for either will be higher now than it would be at the trade deadline.

Plan B: Re-sign Teoscar Hernández

An offseason after signing Shohei Ohtani and with a World Series in hand, it's kind of a flex for the Dodgers to even be in the Soto sweepstakes. Still, it feels pretty unlikely they'll ultimately submit the winning bid for Soto.

The Dodgers have already signed two-time Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell to bolster a rotation that was devastated by injuries in 2024. Ohtani, Tyler Glasnow, Tony Gonsolin and Dustin May are among those who could be back on the mound in 2025 for manager Dave Roberts.

The biggest need for the Dodgers, particularly if Mookie Betts is going to be returning to the infield, is certain production from one of the two corner outfield spots. Perhaps they can dedicate one of the two corner outfield spots to seeing if James Outman and/or Andy Pages can seize an everyday job. But one of those two spots should be filled by a sure thing like Hernández.

After signing a one-year pillow contract with the Dodgers last offseason, Hernández homered 33 times, drove in 99 runs and posted an .840 OPS. He declined the qualifying offer from the Dodgers, which means Los Angeles is the only team who can sign him without having to surrender draft compensation. A return to L.A. makes sense for all parties involved, even if Hernández will have plenty of other options.

Plan B: Sign frontline starter

Whether they sign Soto or not, it's encouraging to see the Red Sox acting like the Red Sox for the first time in half a decade. Boston should be in on every major free agent, but they've acted like a team with limited resources the last few years.

Soto would thrive at Fenway Park (where wouldn't he?), and it would be quite the heist to sign him away from the AL East-rival Yankees. Such a scenario still seems pretty unlikely, though.

While they've also been connected to Hernández, the Red Sox don't necessarily have the pressing need in the outfield some of these other clubs do. Jarren Durran was one of the most complete players in baseball this past season and can play in center or left field. Right fielder Wilyer Abreu posted a .781 OPS and a staggering 17 defensive runs saved in his rookie season. While Ceddanne Rafaela can play all over the diamond, he had 12 DRS in center field this past season as opposed to minus-2 at shortstop, so he's probably best suited to play in the outfield. The point is, the Red Sox don't necessarily need to add a big outfielder this offseason, as they also have Rob Refsnyder as another option on the bench.

What the Red Sox do need is another frontline arm to pair with All-Star Tanner Houck atop their rotation. Corbin Burnes could very well be that guy, although the Red Sox don't have any left-handed starters, so it's hard not to be intrigued by the fit of two-time All-Star Max Fried in Boston.

Plan B: Sign Corbin Burnes and Pete Alonso

Given how hell-bent owner Steve Cohen seems on winning a World Series, the Mets might be the favorites to sign Soto right now. But if he returns to the Yankees or signs somewhere else, president of baseball operations David Stearns could still have a productive offseason.

Step 1: Re-sign Pete Alonso—who we've projected will get a five-year, $135 million deal—to be the big bopper in the middle of your lineup.

Step 2: Stearns reunites with Burnes, who won the 2021 NL Cy Young as a member of the Milwaukee Brewers when Stearns was leading that front office. The B/R contract projection on him is seven years and $224 million.

With the resources of Cohen, the Mets could sign Alonso and Burnes and still potentially bring back one of Luis Severino or Sean Manaea. They could also bring back neither and instead swing a trade for Garrett Crochet with the Chicago White Sox.

There will be disappointment if the Mets don't land Soto, but Stearns would still have the opportunity to build an even better team in 2025 than the one that reached the NLCS in 2024.

Plan B: Add contact-oriented pieces to lineup

Unlike the five other teams on this list, the Phillies haven't yet reportedly made an offer to Soto yet. MLB.com's Todd Zolecki reported late last week that the Phillies do still hope to meet with Soto, though.

However, even if the Phillies do meet with Soto, it seems to be more due diligence than anything. Managing partner John Middleton—one of the more aggressive owners in the sport—said this of a Soto pursuit earlier this offseason.

"I'm afraid Juan Soto wants to be in New York, and I don't mind being a stalking horse, " Middleton said, according to Conor Smith of the Philadelphia Inquirer.

"At some point, if Dave [Dombrowski] and I get that feeling, we'll probably say 'You know what, we're not going to win this' because we've both been the stalking horse before. And if I were an agent, I would do it too. It's a perfectly good strategy. I mean, it's smart. But at the end of the day, I just think he likes New York."

Assuming the Phillies don't re-sign Soto, they still need to switch up the mix in their lineup a bit. Home runs are great, but this team has proven to be too reliant on the longball the last couple of postseasons, and they need to balance out their lineup a bit.

If third baseman Alec Bohm is traded, there's going to be plenty of discussion about signing Alex Bregman or Willy Adames. Bregman would certainly add a right-handed bat who doesn't strike out a ton, although it will likely take a megadeal to land him.

Ha-Seong Kim is an interesting pivot at third base. He may not be ready for Opening Day as he recovers from shoulder surgery, but Kim makes contact, steals bases and is a great defender at three different spots in the infield.

If the plan is to use Brandon Marsh and Johan Rojas as a platoon in center field, trading for a contact-oriented option to play left field like Jake McCarthy or Brendan Donovan would make sense.