Blue Jays fans divided over potential Juan Soto signing as reports swirl that Toronto will make 'highest offer' to star free agent

Forgive me if you've heard this before, but the Toronto Blue Jays are reportedly right in the mix when it comes to potentially landing one of the most coveted Major League Baseball free agents of all time.

A year after missing out on now-Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani in one of the wildest free-agent sagas in the sport's history, the Blue Jays find themselves in a similar spot this winter: as one of the final few contenders to land the biggest free agent in baseball, Juan Soto.

On Tuesday, SNY's Andy Martino reported that there's widespread belief among executives across the league that the Blue Jays will end up presenting the "highest offer" to Soto — even more than financial powerhouse clubs including the Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Mets and New York Yankees who, along with Toronto, are the five finalists to land the superstar slugger.

"It’s no secret that the Yanks and Mets are 'all in' on Soto, as one league source reiterates, and that there is a widespread belief among bidders that Toronto will come in with the highest offer," Martino wrote.

On Monday evening, more details emerged via Randy Miller of NJ Advance Media, who reported that the Red Sox, Mets and Blue Jays "are believed to have made offers north of $600 million" to land Soto.

The 26-year-old is expected to sign a deal that exceeds Ohtani's current $46-million average annual value, a source told Jack Curry of YES Network.

Blue Jays fans flocked to social media to react to the reports as they broke. Some were filled with optimism ...

At the same time, others reacted with skepticism after going through this exact same circus 12 months ago, when it was widely believed Ohtani used the Blue Jays organization as leverage to drive up his price before signing a massive deal with the Dodgers.

Blue Jays fans in the latter, pessimistic camp do have plenty of valid reasons to be sceptical, even aside from the scar tissue built during last year's failed bid for Ohtani.

In the widely circulated SNY piece from Monday, Martino said that despite Toronto's reportedly massive offer, "There is also widespread skepticism that Soto would go to the Blue Jays," before adding: "but a source pushed back on that, saying that if a team is involved in the final bidding, Soto is willing to play there."

Toronto's massive-money offer, the fact that Soto can own the market of a whole country (Canada) rather than just a single city, and his long-time friendship with Blue Jays slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr., are all factor playing into the Blue Jays favour as Soto nears his decision.

Toronto's "so-so" major league roster, its bottom third-ranked farm system, Guerrero Jr. and fellow star Bo Bichette not yet being locked up long-term, and Toronto's lower spot in the pecking order of the best division in baseball, the American League East, could all be factors in deterring Soto from Toronto.

So, will the Blue Jays finally become the bride? Fans will find out fairly soon, as the 2024 AL MVP finalist will likely make a decision on where to sign in the next 10 days, according to MLB Network's Jon Morosi. The league's winter meetings, where a lot of free-agent action has typically happened over the years, begin next Monday.

Last season, Soto posted a career-best 41 home runs to go with 109 RBI and a .989 OPS in 157 games, while slashing .327/.469/.633 with four dingers and nine RBI in the 2024 postseason, helping the powerhouse Yankees reach their first World Series in 15 years.