Blue Jays Rumors: Belief is Jays 'will have highest offer' to Juan Soto

Thanksgiving weekend in the United States is over, and the Major League Baseball offseason is hurtling toward the Winter Meetings next week. The annual offseason event is when many believe free agent Juan Soto will decide where he's likely to play for the rest of his career.

The Toronto Blue Jays are one of five teams known to have made an initial offer to Soto's camp, along with the New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers, Boston Red Sox and New York Mets, with the latter two teams rumored to be the frontrunners. The Red Sox got a lot of attention over the weekend, with rumors running rampant in Beantown. It's something Blue Jays fans are well-equipped to sympathize with.

The truth is, nobody really knows where Soto is going to sign.

There's widespread belief that Blue Jays will make the highest offer to Juan Soto

As the rumor mill got back up to speed on Monday, MLB insider Andy Martino of SNY proclaimed that there's widespread belief that the Blue Jays will present the 26-year-old Soto with the highest offer.

"It’s no secret that the Yanks and Mets are "all in" on Soto, as one league source reiterates, and that there is a widespread belief among bidders that Toronto will come in with the highest offer," Martino said.

With Soto's reported asking price of $700M over 15 years, there's a healthy chance that he eclipses that number in a bidding war featuring some of the big boys of MLB. We know the Blue Jays have minimal contract commitments after the 2026 season, so they have plenty of money to throw around.

And this isn't even the first time that the Jays have been rumored to be the team willing to make the biggest offer to the four-time All-Star, with rumors dating back to early October.

The real question is: Will it even matter if they outbid the other four teams? Toronto isn't exactly set up for a convincing competitive window right now, although adding Soto would immediately change that.

Soto, a five-time Silver Slugger, is a career .285 hitter with a .953 OPS (160 OPS+). Lining up with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette at Rogers Centre for at least the 2025 season would be something to behold. However, as much as the Blue Jays might be willing to offer the highest dollar amount, Toronto fans' dreams could very well go unfulfilled.

"There is also widespread skepticism that Soto would go to the Blue Jays — but a source pushed back on that, saying that if a team is involved in the final bidding, Soto is willing to play there," Martino added.

MLB Network insider Jon Heyman said in a spot on the Foul Territory podcast on Monday that he believes the teams are through a second round of bidding and that it's entirely possible Soto ends up leaving money on the table, i.e., not picking the Blue Jays.

While being the highest bidder gives them a legitimate shot, apparently, it won't surprise anyone in Toronto if the Blue Jays get passed over again this winter and have to go back to the drawing board.