If you ask any one team in Major League Baseball if they would love to sign Juan Soto, they would say yes without a heartbeat. He has had a fruitful season with the New York Yankees; in his first year with the franchise, Soto hit 41 home runs and 109 RBIs, with a .989 OPS. There hasn’t been a player in free agency as big as him since Shohei Ohtani, which is causing teams to almost have a sense of FOMO.

The New York Yankees want Soto back, given he helped lead the team to the WC. The New York Mets owner, Steve Cohen, has a pocket full of cash, and if courses are to be believed, he is ready to cash out $50 million more than what other teams offer. The Blue Jays have plenty of saved money from their failed Ohtani chase last season. However, Dan Patrick, the veteran sportscaster, recently poured water on all the team aspirations.

Dan Patrick speaks his mind on Juan Soto

Juan Soto, with his super agent Scott Boras, is to command a $600 million deal. Despite that, several teams are super keen on signing Soto. But Dan Patrick isn’t buying into the hype regarding Soto’s huge apparent deal yet. Patrick said, “I don’t want him… No, no, not interested. It’s so much money over so many years.” Patrick also mentioned how Soto, while undeniably good, doesn’t have the draw of a true box office star. “If I’m paying that kind of money, I want you to be a gate attraction. I want you to be a box office star. Juan Soto is not a box office star,” Patrick added, even comparing the Dominican player to other marquee players.

Patrick mentioned that Shohei Ohtani, Aaron Judge, and Bryce Harpers are players and stars who command attention and fill the seats. People show up just to see them, but Patrick isn’t convinced that Juan Soto has the same fan pull as the rest. He even brought to attention how Ohtani is a different league since he brings millions of viewers from Japan, which plays into the final price in the contract.

Patrick also noted that Juan Soto, while young, had jumped plenty of teams and he could jump again, warning teams of what could happen in the future. These questions, though skeptical, do draw attention to the bigger questions.

​​Scott Boras dictates the narrative

Dan Patrick claimed he’d take Juan Soto if the price was $300 million. For Patrick, Soto is an average fielder but a damn good hitter, but he quickly added that Scott Boras, the super agent of Soto, wouldn’t let him take the money. And he isn’t wrong! We know Boras is hugely experienced in the arena and ends up getting some of the biggest deals for his clients. Even if it’s through a bidding war.

As for Juan Soto’s off-season, Boras has been at play for a long time. Scott Boras had declared Soto the “Monalisa of the Museum” way back, and recently, Carlos Baerga reported that Soto’s contract can go to $660 million, an amount the Mets offered him. Well, it turns out there was a question mark at the end of his post, making it speculation rather than confirmed news. And the major issue: He is a former Boras client. Boras has a history of 40+ years in the field; he wouldn’t let any opportunity pass to get his clients what they want or even more.