LOS ANGELES – The richest could get even richer. The Dodgers are halfway to beating the Yankees in the World Series and are said to be interested in signing Yankees superstar Juan Soto, people familiar with their thinking say.

The Dodgers, already arguably the best offense in baseball – either them or the Yankees – intend to play for Soto “if he’s interested,” sources say.

The Yankees and Mets are understandably viewed by baseball people as likely favorites to sign Soto, and not just because they are very good teams that are in prime financial position to compete against the free agent who is expected to be He is setting a salary record, but also because Soto is expected to enjoy his year in New York. The Dodgers can afford him too, but the biggest question for them is: Would he go back west?

The Yankees people see the Mets (and perhaps the Blue Jays) as the real threat in the Soto Derby and don’t believe Soto wants to return to Southern California any more than Shohei Ohtani wanted to go to New York. As for Soto and the Dodgers, one Yankees player had two words: “That’ll never happen.”

The Yankees are almost always considered the highest-grossing team in baseball, and the Mets have baseball’s richest individual owner, Steve Cohen, but the Dodgers’ financial situation, already excellent, improved exponentially with the signing of Shohei Ohtani. Dodgers baseball players often thank Ohtani for showing the flexibility to sign the $700 million deal, which is 97 percent deferred, helping them far beyond his own unprecedented 50-50 productivity by allowing them to sign almost anyone. And let’s be honest, the Dodgers greats thank their lucky stars every day for the gift they will likely continue to give.

With $68 million of Ohtani’s $70 million salary deferred without interest, the actual cost to the Dodgers is about $30 million per year, below even the players’ union estimate of $43.7 million. Dollar. The much bigger benefit, however, is the enormous profit the Dodgers make through sponsorship and marketing opportunities. Two Asian airlines alone sponsor the Dodgers, the LA Times reported. It is said that the club’s profits are actually many times the cost of Ohtani’s record deal.

Soto, who hit 41 home runs and posted a career-best .989 OPS for a full season in 2024, fits the bill with the Dodgers as their all-time best player with an impeccable reputation and unusual youth for a free agent. He turned 26 on the day of the first game. And although he called this year, just before the World Series, “one of the most fun years,” he always said his main interest was winning. Brilliantly run LA is well-positioned to continue to do so, perhaps even as well as history’s champions, the Yankees.

The Dodgers signed well over $1 billion in player contracts last winter, including $325 million (plus $50.6 million in posting fees) for another historically young free agent, right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto The Yankees defeated the Yankees 4-2 in the second game in LA, and they are expected to play big again this winter.

The Dodgers’ biggest question about Soto is geographical. Many expect the Yankees and Mets to come out on top in the highly anticipated free agent derby, as there were indications early in his tenure in San Diego that the Dominican star would prefer to be on the East Coast, where he is at the Nationals started in Washington. While he may prefer the East, it was said there was a good chance he would re-sign with the Padres last summer before beloved Padres owner Peter Seidler fell ill and died. It was said that they were “on the right track” in the negotiations before Seidler’s tragic turn of events.

Soto improved his resume by showing he could be successful in New York. He burnished his stellar postseason reputation with another big October. He became the youngest player to hit five home runs in a postseason during the Nats’ 2019 title run. This October, he posted a nearly 1.400 OPS between the ALCS and the first two World Series games. But the other question is whether he minds being second fiddle on a team where Ohtani is undoubtedly No. 1. (Soto didn’t mind Aaron Judge in New York). The Dodgers already have the best right fielder in MLB, Mookie Betts, but he has shown he can play anywhere, including center field. Soto could also play left field. Free agent Teoscar Hernandez is having an outstanding year and says he wants to stay “1000 percent.”

The Dodgers are considered a potential favorite to land another Japanese star, right-handed pitcher Roki Sasaki, if he comes over this winter (it’s seen as a good chance he will). By signing Yamamoto, the Dodgers have already broken the notion that big Japanese stars don’t want to share the spotlight with another Japanese star. The Dodgers are in position to make another $1 billion-plus over the winter because they have a sizable roster of free agents at their disposal.

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The incomparable Ohtani is expected to join the rotation next year. Injured pitching stars Tyler Glasnow, Tony Gonsolin, Dustin May and arguably the greatest pitcher of all time, Clayton Kershaw, are also expected to bolster the rotation group, where the Dodgers have a two-zero lead in the World Series so far. However, pitching is still expected to be a priority.

No one would be surprised if they also went with one of 1) Blake Snell, who sources said will opt out (they tried for him last spring but came up just short and declined the second year). to finish and want to get out), 2) Southern California native and former Cy Young winner Corbin Burnes, 3) their own Jack Flaherty, who was a gem in the NLCS against the Mets and a near-miss in Game 1 against the Yankees. Jewel, 4) his LA Harvard-Westlake schoolmate Max Fried, or 5) any other star.

It should come as no surprise that Soto is on their radar. As one person familiar with their thinking pointed out, they’ve at least tried to land “almost every” major free agent. The only superstars they passed up entirely were Carlos Correa (due to Dodgers fans’ hatred of the Astros from the tainted 2017 World Series) and Judge, who they correctly assumed would return to the Yankees. (According to Dodgers people, they also didn’t play for their own Manny Machado because they felt he didn’t fit in their clubhouse.)

Previously, they had signed both Freddie Freeman and Yamamoto, locked up Betts and tried Gerrit Cole, Bryce Harper, their own Corey Seager and many other megastars. But thanks to Ohtani’s contract, which is not only the richest but also the most “flexible” ever, there is a risk that they will sign almost anyone over the next nine winters.