The Juan Soto sweepstakes is officially open.

Questions about the 26-year-old outfielder's pending free agency arrived as soon as the New York Yankees season ended Wednesday with a 7-6 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 5 of the World Series. Standing before a backdrop of Yankees logos, Soto said he will be "open to this and every single team."

"I don't have any doors closed or anything like that. I'm gonna be available for all 30 teams."

All 30 teams will be interested, but few will have the capital to compete. Soto could command a contract of more than $500 million. That's the territory of teams like the Yankees, the Steve Cohen Mets and possibly the "stupid money" Phillies.

When he last spoke to reporters in mid October, Phillies President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski said he doesn't need to add more star players. Nonetheless, USA TODAY's Bob Nightengale reported this week the Phillies are "expected to strongly pursue him."

Here's what a Juan Soto contract could look like, how it would affect the Phillies lineup and payroll and what other teams could be involved.

What will Juan Soto sign for?

Seldom is a player as skilled as Soto available at age 26.

He just had his best season, hitting .288/.419/.569 with 41 home runs. According to Fangraphs, he was worth a career-high 8.1 wins above replacement, fourth-best in Major League Baseball behind Aaron Judge, Bobby Witt Jr. and Shohei Ohtani.

His accomplishments stretch deeper than this season. He entered the league in 2018 at 19 and a year later won a World Series with the Washington Nationals. He's been an All-Star in each of the past four seasons, playing with the Nationals, San Diego Padres and Yankees.

Here's the complete list of players in the last 30 years with a higher fWAR than Soto's 36.3 through their age 25 season.

• Mike Trout (54.0)

• Alex Rodriguez (43.3)

• Albert Pujols (37.7)

• Andruw Jones (36.6)

In part, because he entered the league so young, Soto is one of just four players to hit free agency entering their age-26 seasons this century. The others: Jason Heyward, Manny Machado and Bryce Harper. Alex Rodriguez hit free agency for the first time entering his age-25 season.

Last offseason, Ohtani reset the free-agent market when he signed a 10-year, $700 million contract with the Dodgers. It is important to note, the contract includes several deferrals which lower its present-day value to around $438 million.

With an average annual value of $43.8 million, when factoring in the deferrals, Ohtani's contract is the largest ever, but not by a significant margin. Pitchers Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer each received shorter-term deals with the New York Mets worth $43.3 million per season.

The total present-day value of Ohtani's contract surpassed Trout's 12-year, $426.5 million contract extension signed in 2019.

Soto will likely seek to edge Ohtani's $43.8 million AAV, and, because of his youth, the $438 million total value. Although he doesn't possess the two-way ability and marketing potential of the Japanese star, Soto is three years younger and doesn't have Ohtani's injury concerns.

The term of Soto's contract could be anywhere from 10-15 years. Soto's agent, Scott Boras, has also negotiated for opt-outs in previous mega-deals.

A 12-year deal taking Soto through his age-38 season at $45 million per year comes to $540 million total. A club could seek to lower his AAV for luxury-tax purposes (more on that later) by extending the term of the deal to something like 14 years at $40 million per season ($560 million total).

Soto earning a deal of that size would represent one of the greatest leaps in the sport's top contract. That distinction currently belongs to Alex Rodriguez, one of the only modern players with a more impressive start to their career than Soto.

Ahead of the 2001 season, the Texas Rangers signed Rodriguez, then 25, to a 10-year, $252 million contract. Entering the offseason, Ken Griffey Jr.'s nine-year, $116.5 million pact with the Cincinnati Reds was the league's top contract.

After three seasons, the Rangers traded Rodriguez to the Yankees. In 2007, he opted out of the final three years of the contract and signed a 10-year, $275 million deal with the Yankees. It remained the sport's largest contract until 2014 when the Miami Marlins signed Giancarlo Stanton to a 13-year, $325 million deal.

Rodriguez had a 9.1 fWAR in his initial platform season, playing a position higher on the defensive spectrum (shortstop) than Soto (corner outfield). If Soto doesn't field offers well above $500 million, reticence among owners to reset the market to such a large degree might be a factor.

Where would Soto play for the Phillies?

Soto played 145 games in right field for the Yankees in 2024, but would likely play left field for the Phillies.

Soto started his career in left with the Nationals, in part to accommodate Bryce Harper in right, and played 154 games there as a Padre in 2023.

Playing out the hypothetical, moving Soto to left would allow the Phillies to keep Nick Castellanos in right field. They could move Brandon Marsh to center field or use him as a trade chip to fill another need.

Soto's superpower as a hitter is his plate discipline. Since he entered the league, no player has reached base at a higher rate than Soto's .421 on-base percentage.

With Soto at the top of the Phillies lineup, the club could entertain the possibility of sliding Kyle Schwarber down in the order.

How would a Soto signing affect the Phillies payroll?

Unlike other professional sports leagues like the National Football League and the National Basketball Association, MLB does not have a salary cap.

But there are financial penalties for crossing certain payroll thresholds to encourage competitive balance.

Teams that carry a payroll of $241 million or more in 2025 (based on the average annual value of each player's contract, plus any additional player benefits) are subject to what is commonly referred to as the luxury tax.

Teams that cross the luxury tax threshold for the first time pay a 20% tax on all overages. There are increasing penalties if a team crosses the threshold in consecutive seasons.

Teams must also pay a greater luxury tax if they cross higher thresholds. The second luxury tax threshold for 2025 is $261 million, the third is $281 million and the fourth is $301 million.

The Phillies have been over the luxury tax threshold in each of the previous three seasons and will be over the threshold again in 2025, with or without Soto.

The Phillies have committed about $221 million to their active roster for 2025. Spotrac and Fangraphs estimate that once the Phillies pay arbitration-eligible and pre-arbitration players, they will have an all-in luxury tax payroll of between $286 and $289 million.

That would put the Phillies over the third luxury tax threshold without adding a free agent, making them subject to a 50% overage tax as a fourth-time repeater and a 42.5% surcharge for crossing the third threshold.

Take this year's Mets as an example. The Mets have a luxury tax payroll of about $350 million, which is $113 million above the 2024 luxury tax threshold. As a repeat offender and a high spender, the Mets will have a luxury tax bill of about $100 million, bringing their total payroll obligations to an MLB record $450 million.

A Soto contract with a $40 million AAV would put the Phillies over the fourth threshold in 2025, increasing their luxury tax bill from about $25 million in 2024 to north of $70 million.

It would also increase the odds the club remains above the luxury tax threshold in the following seasons even as the contracts of Schwarber, Castellanos and J.T. Realmuto come off the books (the Phillies have $162.8 million committed in 2026).

There are a few ways the Phillies could reduce their luxury tax payroll. They could trade or non-tender any of their arbitration-eligible players such as Marsh, Alec Bohm, Austin Hays, Edmundo Sosa and Bryson Stott. They could also try to trade a high-paid veteran like Castellanos ($20 million), Schwarber ($19.75 million) or Taijuan Walker ($18 million), although a move of that nature would likely require the Phillies attach prospect capital or money.

The bottom line: The Phillies can spend as much as they want — the other teams bidding for Soto will also pay the luxury tax — but will have to consider that a $500 million Soto commitment will cost several millions more.

Which teams will bid for Juan Soto?

The Yankees, Dodgers and Mets are the betting favorites, in that order, to land Soto.

It would be seen as a monumental failure of the Evil Empire if Soto were to walk after lifting the Yankees to the World Series in his first season in pinstripes. The Mets would love to give him a subway ticket after their most successful season in a decade. The champion Dodgers spent more than $1 billion last offseason on Ohtani and pitchers Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow, but are hard to count out.

Las Vegas has given the Phillies and Padres the next best odds.

A return to San Diego would be quite a story. The Padres dealt Soto to the Yankees three weeks after the death of owner Peter Seidler, with whom Boras said he was in "knee-deep" contract discussions.

Players can sign with new teams at the earliest on Nov. 4 at 5 p.m.

This story has been updated to correct the number of All-Star teams Juan Soto has been selected to.

Brandon Holveck reports on high school sports for The News Journal. Contact him at bholveck@delawareonline.com.

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Juan Soto contract: Predicting the deal and the Phillies chances