For a long time the New York Yankees had the greatest financial advantage in MLB, but that’s no longer the case, and the new paradigm could cost them Juan Soto.

Most analysts believe that the New York Mets ($305.6 million) and the Los Angeles Dodgers ($249.8 million), which had the highest and third-highest payrolls in the sport last season, respectively, are the prime candidates to pry Soto out of the Bronx, where the Yankees spent the second-most money in baseball ($303.3 million).

However, the Dodgers have one advantage the two big spenders in the Big Apple don’t possess. Star Shohei Ohtani agreed to a $700 million deal last offseason that Los Angeles backloaded so heavily, it frees up the Dodgers to spend even more now. Because of that distinct advantage, Dan LeBatard of the “Dan LeBatard Show with Stugotz” podcast contended that the Dodgers are primed to “steal” Soto out from under the almighty Yankees organization.

“Soto wants $600 million, and the Dodgers are the new Yankees,” LeBatard said on Tuesday, November 19. “It’s just crazy to think that they gave that amount of money to Ohtani and his deal was so team-friendly because it’s all on the back end that they could get everybody — they could get everybody in the sport. They can steal the Yankees’ best free agent.”

Shohei Ohtani’s Massive Contract Has Actually Given Dodgers More Power to Pursue Juan Soto

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Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Soto leaving New York for the opposite coast, and the Dodgers in particular, would pose a serious problem for the Yankees’ chances to win a World Series title in the near future.

The Yankees earned their way to the Fall Classic for the first time in 15 years this season, which was also Soto’s first campaign with the organization. However, New York still fell short, losing to the Dodgers in five games.

Los Angeles, which has a superstar lineup already, overcame a serious injury to one of its best position players in Freddie Freeman as well as a banged up pitching rotation throughout the postseason. If close to fully healthy and equipped with Soto, it is hard to imagine any team in MLB knocking the Dodgers off in 2025.

“The Dodgers made so much money off of Ohtani that their financial advantages are gonna be even greater than they were before, when they merely had the best regional television deal,” LeBatard added Tuesday. “They’ve got all of the good players. It’s just asinine to have Ohtani and Freeman and [Mookie] Betts in the middle of the same lineup. [They] got to the World Series even though everyone else around them was hurt. [They] got to the World Series with Freeman limping because a third of their lineup is those three guys.”

Some Projections Have Yankees Slugger Juan Soto Signing $700 Million Contract This Offseason

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Juan Soto of the New York Yankees.

The Dodgers met with Soto on Tuesday in Southern California, following the Mets in a progression of teams offering the 26-year-old slugger their best pitches before he makes his final decision.

Also among the franchises rumored to have interest in Soto are the Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays, Philadelphia Phillies and San Francisco Giants.

Several MLB analysts predict Soto will sign a contract of 10 years or more that could stretch well beyond the $600 million LeBatard mentioned. A handful of those experts’ projections tip the financial scales at more than $700 million over the life of the deal.