Don’t believe the ‘Juan Soto to the Phillies’ rumors, it’s not happening

The World Series is not even over yet, and the Phillies rumors are already spiraling around.

The Yankees are down 3-0 in the World Series to the Dodgers, and their offense is dead. The Yanks led the American League in runs scored during the regular season, but have scored seven runs in Games 1-3 of the Fall Classic. They are 4-for-20 with runners in scoring position, have left 25 runners on base, and have 31 strikeouts.

It is a big problem. It is eerily similar to what has happened to the Phillies’ offense over the past few postseasons.

The Phils are looking for a boost in the offense. One who will score runs, hit for average, have power, and do it all.

Who better for the Phillies than the guy that got those New York Yankees to the World Series with a home run in the top of the 10th to break the tie?

Yes. Juan Soto.

And, hey, it may happen.

“The Philadelphia Phillies are expected to strongly pursue him to team up with [Scott] Boras client Bryce Harper,” USA Today MLB columnist Bob Nightengale reports.

Soto this postseason for New York has hit .326 with a 1.095 OPS and four home runs. He of course had the ALCS clinching homer in Cleveland in the 10th to give the Yankees a two-run lead. He ended up catching the final out, sending them to their World Series since 2009.

In his first regular season in New York, the 26-year-old hit .288 with a .988 OPS including 41 home runs and 109 RBIs.

Sounds like the perfect guy for the Phillies, right?

Do not get me wrong, I would love to see Soto in red pinstripes. I have desired to see that since he entered the majors in 2018 with the Nationals.

The connections are also all here in Philadelphia. Soto played one season in Washington with Bryce Harper in 2018. Former Nationals Kyle Schwarber and Trea Turner also played with Soto. Turner and Soto won a World Series together in 2019. And current Phillies hitting coach Kevin Long spent four seasons with Soto in Washington and was his mentor.

Long was a huge influence on Soto’s growth to become one of the best hitters in all of baseball.

Ok, great.

Let us take a look at who the Phillies are running with in the race for Soto, shall we?

The New York Yankees.

The New York Mets.

The Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Toronto Blue Jays.

And the San Francisco Giants.

I am out after the first three teams.

Do you really think Soto is going to leave the sport’s largest market, the city of New York, the two organizations that will pay him the largest sum of money? And if you really think that, who would pass up an opportunity to play in the second largest market, Los Angeles, with Shoehei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman, and Mookie Betts?

If you want someone to hand you a blank check, which Soto deserves, you look at New York and Los Angeles.

Dave Dombrowski said in his season-ending press conference that the Phillies were not interested in signing any more stars. They have enough already. Harper, Turner, Schwarber, Nick Castellanos, Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola. They have the talent. Yes, the roster needs some tweaks, but Soto is not the answer.

This is another classic Scott Boras move, creating a larger market for Soto during the World Series. Boras, Soto’s agent, has done this so many times with his other clients. This includes Harper, who he did this with prior to the 2019 season.

Soto is not going to the Phillies. He is not going to the Dodgers.

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