Juan Soto’s sixth full big league season ended at 11:51 PM Wednesday night, when the New York Yankees were eliminated from the World Series with a 7-6 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 5 of the Fall Classic.

The real intrigue started just nine minutes later.

Soto’s free agency — the most anticipated foray into the open market since Alex Rodriguez 24 years ago — officially began at midnight Thursday. When it ends is anybody’s guess, since Soto’s agent, Scott Boras, has never met a free agency he didn’t enjoy dragging out. 

But eventually, a team is going to write a very large check (it’s going to start with “600,” or maybe “700”) and land itself a generational talent who has a chance to not only make the Hall of Fame but end his career as one of the best players ever.

Soto, who turned 26 on Oct. 25, ranks among the top-25 hitters all-time through age 25 in home runs (201, tied for seventh with Albert Pujols and Mike Trout), WAR (17th at 36.4, per Baseball Reference), on-base percentage (20th at .421) and OPS+ (23rd at 160).

Of course, we don’t need to sit here and fill up one of Boras’ infamous binders for him. You know how good Juan Soto has been and how good he could be for the duration of his next contract. But who will win the Soto sweepstakes and get his services for the next 10 years or longer? Here’s our guess, ranked from most likely to least likely with a dark horse at the end. 

NEW YORK YANKEES

The Yankees — who went 82-80 without Soto in 2023 — might need Soto more than anyone else. Sure, they could take the money Soto will require and dole it out to numerous other players who could shore up a top-heavy team, but do you trust Brian Cashman — the architect of this top-heavy team — to find the right secondary pieces? Owner Hal Steinbrenner is the polar opposite of his dad in almost every way, but he knows gate attractions and has paid to keep Aaron Judge and to lure Gerrit Cole. Now will he spend almost as much on Soto as he did on Judge and Cole?

NEW YORK METS

Might this finally be the Big Apple bidding war we’ve all been waiting for? Steve Cohen has the bucks and the gumption to go toe-to-toe with Steinbrenner and just watched his fun, feisty, and sum-is-better-than-the-parts team push the Dodgers to six games in the NLCS. Their right fielders hit just .258 with 14 homers, 67 RBIs and a .709 OPS this season, which means Soto would be a massive offensive upgrade. And what if Soto didn’t replace Pete Alonso, the free agent first baseman, but just slotted into the lineup ahead of him?

LOS ANGELES DODGERS

Sure, the newly crowned World Series champions don’t NEED Soto. But the Dodgers are the modern version of the George Steinbrenner-era Yankees, who would just go get the best players on the market because they could. Shohei Ohtani’s deferred contract makes anything possible, including Soto signing for a good $600 million in real-time money, moving to left field and forming a nightmarish top four as the Dodgers try to build a dynasty.

PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES

Yeah, Bryce Harper is due more than $181 million through 2031. But owner John Middleton is one of the few owners who runs his team like a fan, and general manager Dave Dombrowski has been a go-for-it executive for four decades. You can bet they’ve already imagined Soto and Harper batting back-to-back and taking aim at Citizen Bank Park’s right field porch. 

TORONTO BLUE JAYS

For a day or so last fall, it looked like the Blue Jays were getting Ohtani. Alas, flight trackers are not always accurate, and Toronto finished in last place in the AL East, which surely increased the heat on the front office duo of Mark Shapiro — especially with homegrown superstar Vladimir Guerrero Jr. on the verge of free agency.

SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS

One of these years the Giants will land a big-time free agent… right? Soto’s left-handed swing and impeccable plate discipline would make him a worthy McCovey Cove-splashing successor to Barry Bonds, but there’s no doubt the Giants would have to be the highest bidder to lure Soto back to the west coast with a team that’s had one winning season in the last eight years.

SAN DIEGO PADRES

Soto and late owner Peter Seidler were reportedly closing in on a deal before Seidler’s illness. It’s hard to imagine the Padres revisiting Soto now that he’ll surely cost a couple hundred million more, but never underestimate the determination of perpetually all-in general manager A.J. Preller.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS

Here’s the most intriguing dark horse of all. 

With the Lerner family preparing to sell the team, the Nationals traded Soto to the Padres shortly after he turned down a 15-year, $440-million offer in 2022. But the Lerners pulled the team off the market, which means a reunion can’t be ruled out. The tandem of general manager Mike Rizzo and manager Dave Martinez remain fond of Soto, as does a fan base that welcomed him back with a standing ovation when the Yankees visited Washington D.C. in August. Might Soto pull a LeBron James, go back to where it all started and cement himself as the best player in franchise history?