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Free Agent Profile: Juan Soto will have the Blue Jays gunning for his services
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Photo credit: © Brad Penner-Imagn Images
Nick Prasad
Nov 13, 2024, 08:00 ESTUpdated: Nov 12, 2024, 20:45 EST
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The Toronto Blue Jays are once again dabbling in the conversation surrounding top free agents as the offseason gets underway. With numerous much-needed additions required to help the lineup, Toronto is eyeing the biggest name in this year’s free-agent class, outfielder Juan Soto. 
In the past few weeks, various baseball beat journalists have included the Blue Jays in the pool of teams vying for Soto’s services. Most recently, Jon Heyman at the New York Post listed Toronto as a “serious obstacle to the Mets and Yankees” although Heyman does have a well-documented connection to Soto’s agent, Scott Boras. 
The reality of the state of the Blue Jays is that they need to make a splash this offseason if they want to compete in the AL East. Last offseason, the club came up short to add reinforcements on the offensive side after missing out on Shohei Ohtani. The failure to do so resulted in a terrible year with the bats for the Jays. This offseason, the club must prioritize the sticks if they wish to compete. Who better than Soto?

Juan Soto’s 2024 Showing

Juan Soto did exactly what the New York Yankees expected him to do. He also lived up to expectations by his agent Scott Boras, which puts him in a position to score a huge price point this offseason. 
Soto once again put up an elite-level performance at the plate, placing him in back-to-back All-Star appearances. The outfielder finished 2024 with a .288 batting average, a .419 on-base percentage, and a .569 slugging percentage. In 713 total plate appearances, Soto slated 166 hits, 109 RBIs, and 41 home runs. He scored a league-leading 128 times this season. The left-handed batter struck out 119 times but walked 129, putting himself on base and in position to let other big-bat colleagues do the work. 
The slugger had an OPS of .989 and 328 total bases. His metrics were also very parallel with his overall performance, putting up an average exit velocity of 94.2 mph, 75.5 mph bat speed, a strikeout percentage of 16.7%, and a walk percentage of 18.1%. Soto posted a 57% hard-hit percentage with only an 18.3% chase percentage, displaying his discipline and pitching recognition at the dish. Soto has a great eye and patience for his pitch. His Baseball Savant page is full of values above the 90th percentile, showcasing his elite skills at the plate. 
His spray chart was adequately distributed, with the dominant direction on the pull-side at 42.3%. Soto sat at 35.8% straight-away and 21.9% opposite field. His hacks stayed disciplined and in the zone, with 84.3% zone contact and 59.3% chase contact. Soto was excellent at putting the bat on the ball, and even his strikeouts were quality at-bats and usually had the pitcher battling. He also helped the Yankees advance to the World Series, collecting four home runs and nine RBIs in the process. 

Do the Blue Jays stand a Chance?

Why not give it a shot in Toronto, representing a whole country and building a legacy North of the border? This is what Blue Jays fans and followers were saying about 14 months ago when the club was chasing Shohei Ohtani as well. The other question is, why leave the mecca of baseball, New York City, Why leave one of the most successful franchises in the game, the New York Yankees? The Steinbrenners and Mets owner Steve Cohen are prepared to open their savings to Soto and numerous other teams are interested in the outfielder for obvious reasons. 
The Blue Jays will not only need to allocate the money for Soto, but they’ll need to surround him with talent and a chance to win the division – whether that is internal extensions to players like Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette or other premier free agents. 

Where Does Juan Soto fit into the Blue Jays plans?

This is as self-explanatory as it gets. Soto can work the two-spot behind George Springer, the three-spot in front of Vladimir Guerrero Jr, or the clean-up spot after Vladdy. His left-handed bat will diversify the lineup, and his arm keeps him in right field. 
Soto will be an extreme boost to a Blue Jays lineup that struggled to put the power swing to the ball last season. His presence and structure to be one of the top bats to compliment Guerrero Jr. is exactly what this slugger needs, and the one-two punch with him and Vladdy will mimic a David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez-type duo in the lineup that will give opposing pitchers nightmares. 
The Blue Jays will gun hard for a shot at one of the best players in the game. The state of their franchise revolves around the success of this offseason.

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