Tampa Bay Rays' check-in on Juan Soto has produced the funniest memes
By Joe Lago
When the New York Post's Jon Heyman listed the seven teams in the running to sign Juan Soto, he included the Tampa Bay Rays as one of the surprise suitors for the top prize of MLB free agency.
The budget-conscious, analytics-driven Rays don't seem like a logical destination for Soto, but the team did make a bigger contract offer to Freddie Freeman than the Los Angeles Dodgers. So money wouldn't be the issue.
Still, as Heyman wrote, Tampa Bay is "probably the long shot of the century" to secure the services of the four-time All-Star over the New York Yankees or New York Mets.
RELATED: The Juan Soto sweepstakes have begun
The Rays' interest in Soto was fresh meat for MLB Twitter trolls. And when MLB Deadline News characterized Heyman's report as Tampa Bay having "checked in" on Soto, well, social media seized the opportunity to ridicule.
I have checked in on Sydney Sweeney https://t.co/RZQ5Yig3N8
— Joey- Cade Smith enjoyer (@GuardsJoey) November 7, 2024
The Rays checking in on Juan Soto pic.twitter.com/n51G6mPJmj
— Pod On Lansdowne (@PodOnLansdowne) November 7, 2024
Rays bidding for Juan Soto https://t.co/mksZf4hmRJ pic.twitter.com/qgXcUKkZDG
— Matt ZaFleur (@MZilis23) November 7, 2024
Erik Neander on Rays aggressively pursuing Juan Soto:
— New York Porch Sports (@nyporchsport) November 7, 2024
“We have tens of dollars.” pic.twitter.com/sN7onr4RkC
What's not so funny about the Rays is their stadium situation, which is in flux after Hurricane Milton shredded Tropicana Field. The stadium reportedly accounted for $50 million of the estimated $75 million worth of damage done to St. Petersburg.
“They love to chase good players, but they need to find out where they’re playing first,” a Rays source told Heyman.
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