SF Giants fans have largely resigned themselves to the fact that the Los Angeles Dodgers are going to have a Super Team for the foreseeable future. Mercifully, LA did not add to its Evil Empire by signing Juan Soto.
Per Jeff Passan of ESPN, Soto has agreed to an insane 15-year contract with the New York Mets that will pay him $765 million. That is an absurd amount of money. Soto is a great player, but we will have to see how that contract ages.
SF Giants fans can breathe easier knowing Juan Soto is not a Dodger
There was a large fear amongst Giants fans that Soto would wind up with the Dodgers. After LA signed Shohei Ohtani last season and stole Blake Snell from the Giants this offseason, it seemed as if the Dodgers were willing to do anything to win.
Adding Soto to a lineup that already includes Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, and, the most fearsome of them all, Michael Conforto, would have been almost criminal. Rob Manfred may have just given them the World Series trophy automatically,
Yet, Soto is now a Met. The Giants will still see him twice a year, but it sure will beat having to play in the same division as him.
It was also a relief for Giants fans to not have their hearts broken by the Crown Jewel of Free Agency this time around. Losing out on Aaron Judge two offseasons ago and losing out on Ohtani last offseason, not to mention the Carlos Correa fiasco three offseasons ago, convinced many Giants fans that the team was simply unable to land the Big Fish.
The Giants may not have landed the Big Fish, but they reportedly landed a very respectable bass by signing shortstop Willy Adames to the largest contract in franchise history. This move showed that president of baseball operations Buster Posey is more than willing to spend. If one polled Giants fans at the start of the offseason and asked whether they would rather have Adames and ace pitcher Corbin Burnes or Soto, I think many would have opted for the former.
Of course, Burnes has not signed with the Giants but the rumor mill suggests it is a possibility. If he does, the offseason will be considered a major success for the Giants at least on paper.
Even though they will have lost turncoats Blake Snell and Michael Conforto to the Dodgers, they will have gained a very good replacement in Burnes and the premier free agent shortstop on the market in Adames.
No matter what, fans can celebrate the fact that Soto will not be wearing that dreaded Dodger blue anytime soon.