Ex-Marlins president predicts "Scott Boras not going to get $700,000,000" for Juan Soto without deferral structure like Shohei Ohtani's Dodgers deal

Juan Soto potentially played his final game for the New York Yankees in Game 5 of the World Series against the LA Dodgers. After the loss that ended their dreams, Soto revealed in the postgame interview that all 30 teams have an equal chance of getting his signature.

Despite what Soto said, ex-Miami Marlins president David Samson doesn't think every team has a chance to acquire the Dominican's services. Moreover, Samson said the projected $500,000,000-$600,000,000 valuation of Soto is unrealistic.

The former Marlins president even claimed Scott Boras, Soto's agent, knows this, and the super agent has a target set in mind for his star client.

"$446,000,000 is a number that not many people talk about," Samson said on his podcast 'Nothing Personal.' "But that is the actual value of the Shohei Ohtani deal. That's the number that Scott Boras is trying to beat in present value. He's not going to get a notional amount of 700 unless he finds a team to do deferrals the way Ohtani did." [3:18]

Samson asserted Ohtani got the $700,000,000 only due to the Japanese star deferring $68,000,000 of his annual salary for 10 years. The former MLB executive also expressed his skepticism of Juan Soto potentially commanding a value comparable to Ohtani's.

"There is no one in baseball who believes that Soto should get what Ohtani got because Otani gives you the chance, even if it's minuscule, the chance to pitch," Samson said. "Soto doesn't give you that. And don't be fooled by him being a Gold Glove finalist; he is an average defender." [3:38]

Samson compares Juan Soto's free agency with Gerrit Cole's

When Gerrit Cole entered free agency after his Houston Astros lost to the Washington Nationals in the 2019 World Series, the ace pitcher gave his postgame interview sporting a Scott Boras Corporation hat. Many, including Samson, found that quite disrespectful.

Samson talked about it on his podcast, comparing how Cole and Soto handle it differently.

"Juan Soto gave that in his Yankee t-shirt. It was a scrum, not at the podium, and his Yankee hat was on backwards—which is a step better than what Gerrit Cole did when he was a free agent and a Boras client when he finished with the World Series for the Astros before signing for $324 million with the Yankees," Samson said. [4:15]

"He wore the Boras hat to the postgame press conference. That was the end of me caring one iota about Gerrit Cole because it's just so ridiculous. Soto is one step below that."

Incidentally, Juan Soto was on the Nationals team that defeated Cole's Astros in 2019. The Dominican scored a homer in both of Cole's starts for the Astros. However, Cole went 1-1 in his two starts for Houston in the 2019 World Series.