The Juan Soto sweepstakes is the top story in baseball and it will remain the top story until Soto signs his monumental contract. There was intense speculation about the price of his deal, with predictions ranging from $550 million to $700 million.

So far, it’s all been speculation – what Soto’s market value is, what he’s worth, and which teams might be willing to pay him. So far, the Toronto Blue Jays, Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Mets and New York Yankees are the known teams still with Soto.

Now The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal has reported that Soto’s negotiations have surpassed the monumental $600 million mark. There is no reason for Soto to sign anything under that brand.

“The reserve price for Juan Soto is $600 million. The offer for the free-agent MLB outfielder exceeded that amount, according to two people briefed on the negotiations who were not authorized to speak publicly,” Rosenthal wrote. “The two people briefed on the negotiations said that all remaining candidates had made offers over $600 million. The industry expects Soto to make his decision by the end of the winter meetings, which begin Sunday in Dallas, and possibly even before the meetings begin.

This shouldn’t be a surprise. It was never a reality that Soto could sign for less than the $600 million mark.

Now teams will start to push their limits with him. It’s hard to imagine the bid will actually reach $700 million, but if interest is as high as it sounds at $600 million, I wouldn’t put a number on it at this point.

More MLB: Shocking team reportedly outbid Mets, Yankees in $700 million Juan Soto sweepstakes