Juan Soto's $600 million range, plus a new A's complication

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Juan Sotos bidding has hit the $600 million mark.

Plus: Ken on Lance Lynns latest revamp, an inside look at scouting in the Pacific Rim, and the As stadium deal keeps getting more expensive.

Im Levi Weaver, here with Ken Rosenthal.

Welcome to The Windup! While a decision doesnt appear to be imminent, there are rumblings that we could know Juan Sotos destination by the end of the Winter Meetings.

As reported by Ken (with Evan Drellich and Brendan Kuty), the bidding for Sotos services has now eclipsed the $600 million mark , and the contract could be for as many as 12 years.

Barring major deferments, Sotos deal could be the largest in the sport by current dollars (since Shohei Ohtani s 10-year, $700 million deal was heavily deferred).

Advertisement We havent heard rumors of any new teams, and while our trio report that Soto has begun eliminating teams, were still not sure which of the five Mets , Yankees , Red Sox , Dodgers , Blue Jays have been eliminated, if any.

If youre looking for lines to read between, there have been rumblings that the Dodgers are nearing a deal to bring back Teoscar Hernandez.

Whether that would mean theyre out of the running for Soto is anyones guess.

The Dodgers dont 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 doesnt 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.

Dont 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.

From my latest column , with Will Sammon : Its a little early for best shape of my life stories.

But its getting late in Lance Lynns 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.

Advertisement 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 bodys 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 wasnt done, Lynn said.

And if Im not done, Ive 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 Ive revamped every five or six years.

Heres another revamp to maybe get ready for my last act here going into my late 30s.

More here .

As the world awaits Roki Sasakis 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 arent more players who come stateside, even if theyre good enough: And of course, theres 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 youre serious.

But its quite a bit more expensive to get to Tokyo than it is, say, Alabama.

Unless you think the guy youre 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).

Its an interesting read on an aspect of the sport we dont often get to hear about.

Did anyone really think this was going to be smooth sailing? Evan Drellich has a report this week that the cost of the As proposed stadium in Las Vegas is now $1.75 billion, up $250 million from the initial projection.

Heres Drellichs 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.

Fishers 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 Im 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 As fans to see Fisher willing to invest 10 figures on a stadium that isnt in the Bay Area.

What could they have done in Oakland for $1.4 billion? As I mentioned this week on Bluesky, I have personal reasons for opposing the Golden At-Bat.

But if it does happen, is anyone surprised that Eno Sarris is already using data to see who would be good at it ? Or that Tyler Kepner has identified nine moments that would have looked different with it? To quote Omar from The Wire, You come at the king, you best not miss .

A group of players involved in last years attempted change in leadership of the MLBPA are no longer in their committee positions after elections.

With the Winter Meetings starting on Monday, Jim Bowden gives us a list of seven trades hed like to see.

Garrett Crochet to the Red Sox, anyone? We mentioned a potential Nolan Arenado trade in the last edition of The Windup.

Katie Woo tells us why that might have to wait .

So, what exactly are the Astros planning to do this winter? The results of our reader poll Hall of Fame mock vote are in, and I walked through your decisions (while giving a mock ballot of my own).

A couple free-agent signings of note: LHPs Aroldis Chapman (who will pitch for the Red Sox on a one-year deal) and Matthew Boyd (two-year deal with the Cubs ) are off the board for next year, while catcher Kyle Higashioka signed with the Rangers .

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(Top photo: Brad Penner / Imagn Images ).

This article has been shared from the original article on theathleticuk, here is the link to the original article:

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5972211/2024/12/05/juan-soto-free-agency-the-windup/