The Big Lead

'The Dodgers are bad for baseball' if they sign Juan Soto, says New York sports icon

The Mad Dog fires up the most predictable MLB offseason storyline before it even happens

By J.P. Hoornstra

Jan 31, 2017; Houston, TX, USA; Sirius XC radio Mad Dog Unleashed host Christopher Russo (right) interviews Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce on radio row at the Super Bowl LI media center at the George R. Brown Convention Center.
Jan 31, 2017; Houston, TX, USA; Sirius XC radio Mad Dog Unleashed host Christopher Russo (right) interviews Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce on radio row at the Super Bowl LI media center at the George R. Brown Convention Center. / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
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The narrative that the Los Angeles Dodgers were ruining baseball gained steam a year ago when they committed more than $1.2 billion in future contract obligations to a handful of really good baseball players, most prominently Shohei Ohtani.

Ohtani's record-setting 10-year, $700 million contract might be shattered this winter by Juan Soto. The free agent outfielder is three years younger than Ohtani was a year ago. If early reports are any indication, a bidding war among the New York Mets, New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox and Toronto Blue Jays could push the winning bid for Soto beyond even what Ohtani will get from the Dodgers.

Of course, the Dodgers can't be completely ruled out of the Soto sweepstakes, either. The fifth team to meet with Soto in person this month, they only owe Ohtani $2 million a year through 2023 by virtue of the deferred salary in his contract. That ought to allow the team to spend somewhat freely in free agency during Ohtani's time in L.A.

After the Dodgers won the World Series, at least one prominent voice in baseball media doesn't want to see the rich get any richer by signing Soto.

“I think it’s bad for baseball if the Dodgers got (Soto)," Chris "Mad Dog" Russo told Jon Heyman Tuesday on The Show. "They signed (Yoshinobu) Yamamoto, Ohtani, they’re going to get the other kid pitcher now (Roki Sasaki) from Japan. How much is enough? They just won the world championship. Now you’re going to give them another player for $600 million? They got (Mookie) Betts for $435 million. (Freddie) Freeman’s making a pretty penny. How much is enough, for crying out loud?"

Russo and Heyman both gave the Mets the early edge in the Soto sweepstakes. Wishful thinking? Perhaps, but maybe gauging the health of the industry isn't as simple as wishing the best free agent chooses not to sign with the best team.

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