PHOENIX – The Los Angeles Dodgers spent a lot last season before winning a lot this postseason, taking home a World Series title after committing more than 1 billion dollars on players like Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Teoscar Hernández.

Now it’s time to see which teams are willing to open their wallets for free agents in preparation for the 2025 season.

The Ohtani lottery dominated the conversation last offseason until the Japanese superstar signed up a staggering $700 million, 10-year deal last december With apologies to Juan Soto, there may not be anyone commanding that kind of salary in the coming months, even though this year’s class is undoubtedly deeper.

Soto, Willy Adames, Corbin Burnes, Max Fried, Blake Snell, Alex Bregman and Jack Flaherty are among the high-profile players looking for new teams. After that, there is another enticing tier of players like Hernández, Anthony Santander, Jurickson Profar, Ha-Seong Kim, Pete Alonso, Christian Walker and the aforementioned Sean Manaea who could provide great support to championship contending teams.

MLB general managers will meet this week in San Antonio, Texas for the unofficial opener of the offseason. There’s usually not much movement during these early November conversations, but the groundwork is often laid for future deals.

Here are some things to watch as MLB free agency opens this week:

Soto has shined as a Yankee, but don’t expect a cut from NY

This class may be deep, but there is no doubt that the prize no. 1 is Soto. The four-time All-Star already has 201 career homers, a .421 career slugging percentage and helped lead the New York Yankees to the World Series before losing in five games to the Dodgers.

He is also only 26 years old.

The Yankees would love to keep Soto, who has teamed with Aaron Judge to become a formidable pairing for the Bronx Bombers. But it’s unclear how much owner Hal Steinbrenner is willing to spend on a player who could command a $500 million contract.

Soto did not tip his hand after the one in New York disappointing outing in the Fall Classicbut it doesn’t look like he’d be willing to sign for a discount.

“I’ll be available for all 30 teams,” Soto said. “I don’t want to say anybody has an advantage because at the end of the day we’re going to look at what they have and how much they want me.”

More Big Apple decisions are brewing for the Mets

One of the most exciting teams to watch in the coming months it’s the New York Metswho overcame a slow start to advance all the way to the NL Championship Series before losing to the Dodgers.

Alonso has been a big part of the Mets lineup over the last six seasons with 226 homers. Manaea, Luis Severino and José Quintana are also on the market after all being important pieces of the pitching rotation.

Now the franchise must decide whether to keep them, rebuild or do a mix of both. There’s a lot of pressure on the team to improve, especially since it doesn’t look like the crosstown Yankees are going to stop winning anytime soon.

Fascinating veterans seek late-career renaissance

It will be fascinating to see what happens with veterans like Paul Goldschmidt, Walker Buehler, Shane Bieber and Carlos Santana. These are guys who have some miles (and surgeries) on their bodies, but have been big leaguers for a long time.

Goldschmidt was the 2022 NL MVP for the St. Louis Cardinals, but his offensive production has declined in recent years. Still, he’s a first baseman who’s good in the clubhouse and keeps his body in great shape.

Buehler is back from his second Tommy John surgery this season. There have been more ups and downs, though his stellar performance in the World Series is reason to believe he has more to come. He threw six scoreless innings against the Yankees, including another scoreless inning to end the series in Game 5.

Superagent Scott Boras will once again make his presence felt

Baseball super agent Scott Boras has long been considered one of the best in the business, though last year’s offseason he was not among his best.

Several of his clients — including Snell, Matt Chapman, Jordan Montgomery and Cody Bellinger — didn’t sign until spring training, but didn’t command the long-term deals they were looking for. Instead, most ended up signing short-term contracts.

Boras will again be a major factor this offseason, representing many of the major free agents, including Soto, Burnes, Alonso, Snell and Bregman.

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AP Baseball Writer Ronald Blum in New York contributed to this report.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/mlb