About ten days ago I was going to post about the Juan Soto free agency excitement. Heading into the Winter Meetings he was the most attractive free agent, and his signing would get the ball rolling for the rest of the market.

After signing that crazy $765 million, 15-contract it’s hard to take Soto at his word that all 30 teams were in consideration. Likewise, we’ll never really know who made legitimate offers. I won’t take GMs at their word, however.

What we do know is that the bidders that lost out had to make contingency plans. The Giants may have never really been in contention for Soto, but their signing of Willy Adames to a mega deal signified they weren’t going to get in a bidding war for his services.

What makes the Mets signing so interesting is that they poached him from the Yankees, a rival but not a division foe like the Phillies or Braves. They still need a left-handed bat to replace both Soto and Rizzo so jumping on Pete Alonso isn’t a great solution.

Losing out on Soto, the Yankees immediately signed lefty starter, Max Fried to an 8-year $218 million contract. Their closest rival, the Red Sox countered by acquiring Garrett Crochet for a “big prospect haul”. Editor’s note: That’s in quotes and italics because those aren’t my words or the sentiments of most knowledgeable Sox fans. The last time the Sox traded a left handed stud to the Red Sox they ended up with egg on their faces.

With Snell, Crochet and Fried off the market, the market for Corbin Burnes should shake out sooner than not. There are more unfounded rumors surrounding the Cubs right now, and surprisingly none include Thomas Brown of the Bears.

We’ll see if Steve Cohen’s strategy is successful or if prudent spending wins out.