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Juan Soto’s bidding has hit the $600 million mark. Plus: Ken on Lance Lynn’s latest “revamp,” an inside look at scouting in the Pacific Rim, and the A’s stadium deal keeps getting more expensive. I’m Levi Weaver, here with Ken Rosenthal. Welcome to The Windup!
Big Deals: Huge Soto contract likely soon
While a decision doesn’t appear to be “imminent,” there are rumblings that we could know Juan Soto’s destination by the end of the Winter Meetings.
As reported by Ken (with Evan Drellich and Brendan Kuty), the bidding for Soto’s services has now eclipsed the $600 million mark, and the contract could be for as many as 12 years. Barring major deferments, Soto’s deal could be the largest in the sport by “current dollars” (since Shohei Ohtani’s 10-year, $700 million deal was heavily deferred).
We haven’t heard rumors of any new teams, and while our trio report that Soto has begun eliminating teams, we’re still not sure which of the five — Mets, Yankees, Red Sox, Dodgers, Blue Jays — have been eliminated, if any.
If you’re looking for lines to read between, there have been rumblings that the Dodgers are nearing a deal to bring back Teoscar Hernández. Whether that would mean they’re out of the running for Soto is anyone’s guess. The Dodgers don’t really operate the same way as everyone else.
As for the Yankees, Kuty took a look at what their lineup could look like if Soto doesn’t return (and some corners they could cut if he does). And Kaitlyn McGrath has the latest on the Blue Jays and their pursuit of the 26-year-old slugger.
Toronto might seem like a long shot, but remember: They were prepared to match the Dodgers’ offer to Ohtani last year. Don’t count them out just yet.
If the decision does come by the end of the Winter Meetings, that would be a week from today — Dec. 12. We may have our answer soon.
Ken’s Notebook: ‘Revamped’ Lynn looking to extend career
From my latest column, with Will Sammon:
It’s a little early for “best shape of my life” stories. But it’s getting late in Lance Lynn’s career.
Frustrated by knee trouble that limited him to 117 1/3 innings last season, his lowest total for a full campaign excluding the 2016 season he missed while recovering from Tommy John surgery, Lynn adjusted his training regimen. In a phone interview yesterday, the 6-foot-5 right-hander said he has lost 20 pounds, dropping from 280 to 260.
Lynn, 37, became a free agent when the St. Louis Cardinals declined his $12 million club option. Since his debut in 2011, he ranks sixth in the majors with 2,006 1/3 innings pitched, behind only Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander, Zack Greinke, Clayton Kershaw and Madison Bumgarner. And like most players, Lynn wants to extend his career as long as possible.
“The older you get, you learn new things,” Lynn said. “When you look at your knees and lower body, with my age and the way my body’s built, I was going to have to lose a little bit of weight. That was the No. 1 priority, right out of the gate.”
Lynn twice went on the injured list last season with right knee inflammation, making only two starts after July 30. He said the injury was “something that was unexpected, came out of nowhere.” During the time he was hurt, he reached out for advice from a number of former teammates who pitched into their late 30s and early 40s. The group included John Lackey, Chris Carpenter, Adam Wainwright and CC Sabathia.
“I kind of came to the conclusion that I wasn’t done,” Lynn said. “And if I’m not done, I’ve got to change some stuff up, just to make sure I can do the things I need to do and give myself the best chance to stay healthy for as long as I want to do it.
“I think I’ve revamped every five or six years. Here’s another revamp to maybe get ready for my last act here going into my late 30s.”
More here.
Windup Explains: How to scout in the Pacific Rim
As the world awaits Roki Sasaki’s decision (is Yu Darvish the Padres’ secret recruiting weapon?), Rustin Dodd and Sam Blum have a great article this week that goes behind the scenes on the scouting process in the Pacific Rim.
While the mega-stars are generally MLB-bound, it turns out there are a few reasons why there aren’t more players who come stateside, even if they’re good enough:
- One is cultural — it’s generally frowned upon for amateurs to skip NPB and sign with big-league teams (though Shohei Ohtani famously considered doing just that before opting to play for the Nippon Ham Fighters). As a result, sometimes “diamond in the rough” amateur players aren’t that accessible to watch in the first place.
- Another is that the talent pool is still not quite up to MLB levels. Thus, if you’re a fairly successful player in Japan, but would be little more than a role player in the U.S., why would you ever leave your home country to take less money for less playing time in a new culture?
And of course, there’s the cost. While technology has made it much easier to get information via Trackman data and film, scouting is more than just numbers in a spreadsheet. In fact, as Blum and Dodd point out, part of the value of in-person scouting in the Pacific Rim is showing up to prove you’re serious. But it’s quite a bit more expensive to get to Tokyo than it is, say, Alabama. Unless you think the guy you’re scouting is worth the trip … maybe it just makes more sense to go to Alabama (and hit a couple other states on your way there and back).
It’s an interesting read on an aspect of the sport we don’t often get to hear about.
Trainwrecks: A’s stadium costs keep rising
Did anyone really think this was going to be smooth sailing?
Evan Drellich has a report this week that the cost of the A’s proposed stadium in Las Vegas is now $1.75 billion, up $250 million from the initial projection. Here’s Drellich’s breakdown:
“The filings included a letter signed by (owner John Fisher) stating he and his family would commit up to $1.1 billion to build the park, which they hope is ready for the 2028 season.
“U.S. Bank and Goldman Sachs jointly filed another letter that commits an additional $300 million to construction. Fisher’s and the banks’ contributions add up to $1.4 billion, with another $350 million or so in public money expected to account for the rest of the $1.75 billion. The exact public contribution will be dependent on a few factors, including estimates of taxes the new stadium will produce, but is not to exceed $380 million.”
A couple of notes. First, that public funding still has yet to be officially approved.
But I’m also struck by the fact that Fisher is apparently willing to spend over a billion dollars on this. I know there were other issues with the attempts to build a stadium in or around Oakland, but it has to sting for A’s fans to see Fisher willing to invest 10 figures on a stadium that isn’t in the Bay Area. What could they have done in Oakland for $1.4 billion?
Handshakes and High Fives
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(Top photo: Brad Penner / Imagn Images)
