Latest rumors hint beastly Jorge Soler is destined to be a Yankees rival

The early offseason connection between the Yankees and Jorge Soler that dropped (Giancarlo Stanton replacement mode?) made precious little sense. The resulting Soler rumors that seem likely to keep him in the Yankees' backyard? Yeah, those track.

Soler has been lost in the DH shuffle this offseason, trapped in a pile of proven names unable to secure a paycheck. Following Joc Pederson's cheap deal with the Diamondbacks that was signed, sealed and delivered Thursday night, though ($12.5 million for one year!), the market may very well start to move, featuring All-Star names like Justin Turner and JD Martinez.

And Soler, of course, who -- no big deal -- hit 36 home runs and made the All-Star team last year, just two years after earning World Series MVP honors for the 2021 Braves and silencing 55,000 Mattress Macks in Houston with one thunderous swing. The odds are very high that, after an entire offseason of being distracted by Jordan Montgomery and Blake Snell, we all collectively look up in June and say, "Huh. Soler's got 23 bombs. Good pickup." Ditto Martinez, ditto Turner.

A few weeks back, it seemed like Soler was destined to be the big bopper at Fenway laying waste to the area where the Coke bottles once stood on a middling team. That, like most Red Sox rumors, fizzled. Weren't they on the doorstep of signing Teoscar Hernández, too? Anyway...

Now, it seems far likelier he finds a match in Toronto, and Blue Jays insider Scott Mitchell hinted (at the 17:30 mark) on Friday that the pairing is essentially a done deal.

Yankees might have to contend with Jorge Soler on Blue Jays

"I tweeted about Jorge Soler today," Mitchell said, his eyes darting back and forth like he'd just been forced to stare at Daulton Varsho's 2023 slash line paired with Gabriel Moreno's. "I wouldn't be surprised if he signs today. He'll be off the board."

Soler's a perfect successor to Edwin Encarnacion and the Toronto boppers of the past, and would slide nicely into a lineup that could use more fearsome names -- and it's crazy saying that about a Vlad Jr.-led team, but it's true.

Last year's "pitching and defense" Blue Jays got Toronto's roster venerated by MLB Network's "The Shredder," but the Jays fizzled in real life. Maybe adding Soler is the first step in years towards releasing Vladdy's movie rather than just promoting the trailer.