The Toronto Blue Jays are leading off the Juan Soto sweepstakes with the Boston Red Sox on deck and the New York Mets and Yankees waiting in the dugout.

As reported by ESPN's Jeff Passan, the free-agent slugger is set to meet with interested parties in California this week with Toronto getting the first meeting followed by Boston. But it's the prohibitive favorites – New York's clubs – that will get the coveted final meetings with the All-Star.

Noticeably absent from Passan's list is the Los Angeles Dodgers, who beat Soto's Yankees in the World Series. The Dodgers' currently have $166 million committed in payroll for next season, compared to $186 million for the Yankees, $121 million for the Mets, $107 million for the Sox and $122 million for Toronto.

As for how much Soto could earn, his agent Scott Boras suggested that the $700 million deal Shohei Ohtani signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers last offseason is a good starting point.

Boras gave a pun-filled, 48-minute assessment of the market at the general managers meetings in San Antonio last week, calling Soto 'the Mona Lisa of the museum.' The super agent said only a handful of players have matched Soto´s accomplishments at age 26, mentioning Willie Mays, Hank Aaron and Ted Williams, and boasted 'he has literally 15 years more of his prime to offer.'

'You´re talking about a business opportunity where you can make literally billions of dollars by acquiring somebody,' Boras said. 'You can really see that owners, general managers, that they´re kind of called upon to be championship magicians. ... It´s hard to do, to put together that magic of a championship run, but behind every great magician obviously is the magic Juan.'

Ohtani agreed to his 10-year contract late last year and helped lead the team to its second World Series title in five years . The deal contains $680 million in deferred money payable from 2034-43, reducing its average annual value for purposes of baseball´s luxury tax to approximately $46.08 million.

'I don´t think Ohtani has much to do with Juan Soto, at all,' Boras said. 'It´s not something we discuss or consider. Juan Soto is - he´s in an age category that separates him from all.'

He wouldn´t publicly discuss specifics of what Soto is seeking.

'I´m not going to talk about dollars and cents. That´s something we´ll take care of with the clubs,' Boras said.

He dismissed the idea of Soto accepting deferred money similar to Ohtani.

'I don´t think that tax considerations are the focal point when you´re talking about a business opportunity where you can make literally billions of dollars by acquiring somebody,' he said.

Like Ohtani, Soto will be considering the Blue Jays, who have showed a willingness to spend in recent years. The team also boasts a complementary right-handed bat in Vladimir Guerrero Jr. – someone who could offer protecting for Soto in much the same way Aaron Judge did with the Yankees in 2024 as the left-handed slugger posted .419 on-base percentage and a career-high 41 home runs.

The Red Sox, meanwhile, have been criticized heavily by their fans over ownership's frugalness in recent years. What's more, Boston already has a lefty-heavy lineup featuring Rafael Devers, Triston Casas, Jarren Duran, Masataka Yoshida, and Wilyer Abreu, not to mention top prospects Roman Anthony and Marcelo Mayer.

But perhaps the best fits are both in New York, where Soto shined in his first season since coming over in a trade with the San Diego Padres. He had a career-best 7.9 wins-above replacement in the Bronx and helped to give the Yankees the most fearsome duo in the league alongside Judge.

In Queens, though, there might be an even better opportunity – and more money.

With billionaire owner Steve Cohen's nearly unlimited resources, the Mets are in a situation to make, perhaps, the largest offer. And just like their crosstown rivals, the Mets also boast an elite bat at the top of their lineup in shortstop Francisco Lindor (33 home runs, 39 doubles in 2024). What's more, they could re-sign first baseman Pete Alonso, who is coming off a 34-homer season.