"Juan Soto is not Shohei Ohtani" - MLB analyst explains why only Dodgers superstar deserves $700M contract

At the moment, Shohei Ohtani and Juan Soto are the only two players in the major leagues with contracts that value $700 million or more. Shohei Ohtani signed his ten-year, $700 million contract to join the LA Dodgers as a free agent ahead of the 2024 season, while Juan Soto one-upped the Japanese superstar a year later, agreeing to a 15-year, $765 million deal with the New York Mets.

On Tuesday's episode of the "Hold My Ball Podcast," analyst Jake Savicki explained why only Ohtani deserved to be in the $700 million club, not only from a purely sporting standpoint, but also a commercial one.

"Shohei Ohtani's the only guy that makes sense for a $700 million dollar contract," Savicki said (Timestamp: 10:16). "Juan Soto, on the other hand, he's from the Dominican Republic. Different story than coming from Japan. They (Dominicans) are big baseball people, yes, but Juan Soto is not Shohei Ohtani. "Fans in the Dominican (Republic) are not nearly as loyal, willing or able to spend the money to support their superstars, as the Japanese culture is. That's just the bottom line. So you're not getting the extra money from Juan Soto outside of the game. Whatever you're about to pay this dude, you're about to pay him to strictly play baseball. That's it. That's all you're doing."

To drive his point home, Savicki went on to highlight the contrasting team valuation shift Soto and Ohtani have brought to the Mets and Dodgers respectively.

"The Mets were worth $3 billion before Juan Soto got there, and in one season, they went to $3.2 billion," Savicki added (Timestamp: 12:11). That's $200 million that they've increased, as opposed to the Dodgers' $850 million increase after Ohtani's first season. "Which, as I said earlier, turned into a $1.5 billion increase in Ohtani's second season. Will Juan Soto bring $1.5 to the Mets' value in 2026? Doubtful. Therein lies the problem, ladies and gentlemen."

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Shohei Ohtani and Juan Soto will be competing for supremacy in the NL in 2026

The 2025 season was one of contrasting fortunes for MLB's two highest paid players. Shohei Ohtani and the Dodgers ended up winning the NL West and the World Series for a second consecutive season. A few days after the season wrapped up, Ohtani also took home his second consecutive NL MVP award.

2025 Los Angeles Dodgers World Series Celebration - Source: Getty

For Juan Soto and the Mets, things did not go to plan. Though Soto impressed on an individual level, the Mets shockingly failed to make the playoffs. While Soto was announced as one of the finalists for the NL MVP award, he eventually finished third, behind Shohei Ohtani and Kyle Schwarber.

Come 2026, the two superstars will continue battling for supremacy, for both collective and individual accolades.

Edited by Raghav Mehta