Sports
News Analysis: Dodgers to meet with Juan Soto, signaling more big spending is possible this winter
There were two prevailing thoughts from some people around the Dodgers organization regarding Juan Soto’s free agency this winter.
The team is probably unlikely to land the 26-year-old superstar, who is expected to command a contract upward of $600-$700 million on a frenzied open market.
But, the Dodgers might as well try nonetheless, since they possess the competitive track record and financial resources to be one of Soto’s few realistic landing spots this offseason.
That pursuit is set to begin in earnest this week, according to a person with knowledge of the situation unauthorized to speak publicly, with Dodgers officials scheduled to meet with Soto and his agent Scott Boras on Tuesday, as MLB.com first reported.
That meeting will be the latest in a string of presentations from big-market clubs pursuing Soto in free agency.
Already, the four-time All-Star and five-time Silver Slugger has reportedly met with the incumbent New York Yankees, deep-pocketed New York Mets and superstar-hungry Toronto Blue Jays and Boston Red Sox.
Despite helping the Yankees reach the World Series this year in a stellar first season in the Bronx, Soto has also said all teams will have an equal opportunity to sign him.
Landing him, therefore, will likely require winning an unprecedented bidding war.
To this point, the Dodgers — even in the wake of their billion-dollar-plus offseason last year — haven’t been scared away yet.
“Our ownership group has been incredibly supportive, and we’ve talked about payroll, how it fluctuates, and there’s very rarely like one set number,” general manager Brandon Gomes said earlier this month, speaking generally about the club’s ability to spend significantly again this winter.
“Like every single year, the goal is a championship-caliber team,” Gomes added. “They’ve always given us the opportunity to do what we need to, to help us put us in the best position possible for that.”
Soto would certainly fill a major need for the team in the outfield this winter, but the organization would typically be loath to consider such an expensive bid for a free-agent player.
Most of the major acquisitions they’ve made in recent years have come on lucrative yet relatively team-friendly deals, from Mookie Betts’ $365-million extension in 2020 (which could prove to be almost half of Soto’s cost), to Freddie Freeman’s $162-million signing in 2022 (he now has only the fifth-highest tax hit on the team), to Shohei Ohtani’s heavily deferred $700-million deal last offseason (in which $680 million of his salary won’t be paid out until a decade from now).
The Dodgers are also already well on their way to paying hefty luxury tax penalties for a fifth consecutive season next year, with more than $270 million in salary on the books for competitive balance tax purposes (the first tax threshold is at $241 million, and surcharges would reach 110% if they surpass $301 million).
However, the Dodgers are not facing typical financial restraints either.
Ohtani’s historic deferrals have kept the team’s actual payroll levels flexible, and seemingly made club executives more willing to pay luxury tax penalties long-term.
The team also experienced an economic windfall this season, thanks to the staggering revenue boosts that came with Ohtani’s celebrated arrival and the club’s first full-season World Series title since 1988.
The question is not whether chairman Mark Walter and his Guggenheim ownership group have the money to spend on Soto — or any other top free-agent target this winter — but if they feel the investment would be worth the gaudy price tag.
Last winter, the team made a similar calculation when it came to Japanese pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto. The then-25-year-old right-hander prompted a wide bidding war between MLB teams. The Dodgers, in a break from character, emerged victorious, giving Yamamoto the biggest contract for a pitcher (outside of Ohtani) in MLB history with a 12-year, $325-million deal.
The impetus for that signing, as multiple people with the club later acknowledged, was about more than just winning baseball games.
The Dodgers’ ownership group was eager to expand its footprint in Japan — both for the Dodgers’ own brand, and Walter’s Guggenheim investment firm (right down to having prominent Guggenheim patches on the sleeves of the club’s jerseys).
To that end, Yamamoto’s arrival came with plenty of added value, giving the team a young, talented arm who could also bolster their global marketing efforts (and help deflect some of the spotlight from Ohtani).
Soto’s agent, Boras, has tried to pitch his client similarly.
During the regular season, Boras billed Soto as the “greatest surplus value in free agent history,” highlighting Soto’s incredibly rare combination of age (at 26, his whole prime remains in front of him) and already dominant offensive profile (since 2019, Aaron Judge is the only position player who has been worth more wins above replacement, according to Fangraphs).
At this month’s general managers meetings, Boras doubled down, claiming that a club could potentially “make literally billions of dollars by acquiring somebody like him” over the life of the deal.
“It’s a great business investment,” Boras added. “Getting an opportunity to acquire a player at this age, with this skill, with this character, with this experience, with so much performance gradient established, [teams] understand the surplus value of it.”
The question is whether it will be enough to tempt the Dodgers into another commitment of more than half a billion dollars.
The team, of course, still has other needs this winter. Among starting pitchers, the Dodgers are considered a likely landing spot for another Japanese star, 23-year-old Roki Sasaki, and have also been linked to top MLB free agents like Blake Snell, Max Fried and Corbin Burnes. Unless they get Soto, the outfield will also be a priority, especially if the team fails to re-sign Teoscar Hernández.
There are other reasons to engage in the Soto sweepstakes, too. The team could juice Soto’s cost for other championship contenders. Or, they could lurk around the backboard, as president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman likes to say, in case his market develops differently than expected.
Still, the fact the team is even entertaining a meeting with this year’s top free agent suggests the Dodgers, for all the spending they did last offseason, aren’t tightening their purse strings yet.
The last year has transformed the club’s financial outlook and spending capabilities. They might still be long shots for Soto. But at this juncture, there was no point in not trying to make a strong impression upon the star target either.
LAS VEGAS — The door opened for Arthur Kaluma to show his worth for the Lakers in the NBA Summer League on Saturday night.
He did so in a big way.
Kaluma had 34 points and five rebounds during the Lakers’ 91-70 win over the Dallas Mavericks at the Thomas & Mack Center.
He was 11 for 16 from the field and six for 10 from three-point range.
With Lakers rookie guard Cameron Carr unable to play because of a right thumb contusion, Kaluma took over the scoring role. Carr, the 24th pick in the NBA draft, is averaging 17 points per game.
“Cam doesn’t play tonight, so he gets a little bit more minutes, gets a couple more touches,” said Lakers Summer League coach Ty Abbott about Kaluma. “But he’s done a really good job of making the most of it when he doesn’t have actions run for him. So the way that he’s been able to stay ready, find windows for himself has kept him in a rhythm. So, on a night like tonight, when we can run some actions for him, he knocks them down and just plays out of his mind. It was great.”
Kaluma said he was “a little nervous” but his three-point shooting said otherwise.
“When [teammate] Jon Elmore came down and he pitched it back to me for a three … I just knew when it came off my hand it was cash,” Kaluma said. “So I said, ‘Yeah, I’m hot.’ It went on from there.”
Late in the fourth quarter, Kaluma lined up a three-pointer, setting his feet and scoring from 29 feet out. He flashed three fingers and smiled. His teammates on the bench stood and cheered, as did the fans.
“We have such a great group of guys this year at Summer League and going through this it’s hard to get that camaraderie with a group,” Kaluma said. “But I feel like everybody wants to see everybody succeed and I felt that tonight. I’m not going to lie to you. They tell me to shoot the ball. I passed up a couple of shots and they were mad at me the other day.”
Kaluma played for the South Bay Lakers in the G League last season. He averaged 14.6 points per game, 4.9 rebounds and shot 55% from the field, 37% from three-point range.
“The G can get grimey, you know what I’m saying? It’s a time where everybody is trying to fight for a position and there is a certain hunger that you have to have in order to be successful in the G,” Kaluma said. “And I feel like that drive that I had my first year in it pushed me into this summer to really get better and work on my game and come here and have the opportunity to perform.”
Kaluma wasn’t alone in helping the Lakers improve to 2-0 in Summer League play.
Adou Thiero ran the court, took a lob pass from Chris Mañon and threw down a two-handed dunk. He had another solid outing with 15 points and four rebounds. He shot just four for 12 from the field, but was a plus-15.
But the night belonged to Kaluma.
“I pride myself on the defensive end,” he said. “I know I got hot offensively, but the shot was just falling today, you know what I’m saying? My game is three-and-D. I lock-up on defense and I know I can hit open shots. I just got hot today and I’m not going to try to let it get to my head.”
Sports
Golf star records lowest round in LPGA major history with astounding performance at Evian Championship
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There are good days on the golf course, and then there is what Haeran Ryu just did on Saturday.
Ryu, 25, recorded the lowest round in LPGA major history on Saturday with an 11-under 60 at the Evian Championship. With the South Korean golfer’s historic round, she holds a three-stroke lead.
Ryu’s round comes just two weeks after winning her first major at the Women’s PGA Championship. On the 18th hole, Ryu left a 30-foot eagle putt a few inches short, and instead settled for a birdie.
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Haeran Ryu of South Korea reacts on the 18th green after the third round of The Amundi Evian Championship at Evian Resort Golf Club in Evian-les-Bains, France, on July 11, 2026. (Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)
She said after the round that she had no idea what she had done until she counted up her scorecard.
“But after the putt and I counted my score with my caddie,” she said. “Oh my God, it’s 11-under par today. It was so amazing. My caddie says, ‘Yep.’ I’m so happy right now.”
If Ryu had made the eagle putt on the 18th hole, she would have been just the second player to shoot a 59 in LPGA history.
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Haeran Ryu of South Korea celebrates a birdie on the 15th green during the third round of The Amundi Evian Championship at Evian Resort Golf Club on July 11, 2026, in Evian-les-Bains, France. (Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)
Her 60 broke the record for the lowest round in an LPGA major by one shot. Leona Maguire and Jeungeun Lee6 in 2021, and Hyo Joo Kim in 2014, each shot 61 at the Evian Championship, which was designated as an LPGA major in 2013.
The lowest round in a men’s major is 62, which is shared by four players — Branden Grace at Royal Birkdale in the 2017 British Open, Xander Schauffele and Rickie Fowler in the 2023 U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club, and Schauffele and Shane Lowry in the 2024 PGA Championship at Valhalla.
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Haeran Ryu of South Korea and Lottie Woad of England interact after their round on the 18th green during the third round of the Amundi Evian Championship at Evian Resort Golf Club in Evian-les-Bains, France, on July 11, 2026. (Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)
Ryu hopes her historic third round can help propel her to a second major win in three weeks.
“That is amazing, amazing dream,” Ryu said. “So I just want that one to come true, but we have one more day.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Taylor Crabb is no stranger to South California beaches. The Long Beach State alum returns home this weekend to compete in AVP League matches.
It marks the first time AVP will compete in Long Beach since 2020 and allows players to compete at the 2028 Olympics beach volleyball venue.
Crabb, 34, made his AVP debut in 2013 with his brother, Trevor, and advanced from the qualifier in Manhattan Beach before finishing 25th in his first tournament.
After years of competing with various different partners, Taylor Crabb and Andy Benesh have delivered the top performances this AVP season.
The following interview with Crabb has been edited for clarity and length.
Are you excited to compete in this weekend’s event at Long Beach?
Crabb: Very excited. A lot of my college teammates and part of the school have reached out, saying that they’re gonna come. So I’m excited to get a chance to play in front of them again.
When was the last time you were in Long Beach?
Crabb: I always try to go down there for alumni events or any big games they have. I went to UCLA against Long Beach last year, when it was No. 1 versus No. 2, so I always try to get down there and support them.
You missed out on the chance to compete in the 2020 Olympics because of COVID-19 restrictions and chose not to pursue a spot at the 2024 Olympics. Are you fired up to try to compete in the 2028 Olympics, knowing that Long Beach will host the competition?
Crabb: Yeah, it’s definitely an exciting time having the Olympics in Long Beach, and we kind of get to break it in this weekend. As you said, Tokyo didn’t go the way I wanted, but I’m going full force now. I have a great partner in Andy Benesh, who obviously went to the Paris Olympics, and if it weren’t for the Olympics being in Long Beach, and me getting a partner like Andy, I’m not even sure I’d be going for it, but because of those two things, I want to make the most of it.
You mentioned that if it wasn’t for a partner like Andy, you wouldn’t be going for it. What do you mean by that?
Crabb: I didn’t feel motivated by playing in all the international events, but now, I think, sitting out kind of lit the fire under me, and I’m really motivated now.
You’ve had different partners throughout your time. What other motivation does Andy give you?
Crabb: He’s been, in my mind, the top blocker for the U.S. the last four or five years. Seeing the professionalism he brings every day to practice, on and off the court, while traveling and when showing up to tournaments, it rubs off on you and that’s really motivating to see. And I just want to make him proud.
Why do you love volleyball?
Crabb: A lot of reasons, but it’s just a feeling I have when I’m out there on the court. It feels natural. It feels like home. I was born into a volleyball family. I had a volleyball in my hands my entire life, so I’ve always just enjoyed it.
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