A surprising new team has entered the chat in pursuit of superstar outfielder Juan Soto.

According to MLB insider Jon Heyman of The New York Post, the Tampa Bay Rays are the seventh known suitor to express interest in Soto.

According to Heyman, the Rays appear to be seventh in the race for Soto behind these six big, big-money clubs: New York Yankees, New York Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers, Toronto Blue Jays, Boston Red Sox and San Francisco Giants.

“For now, Tampa should be viewed as a distant seventh on the list, as it’s hard to imagine them competing with baseball’s biggest markets, starting with both New York teams but not ending anywhere near there,” Heyman wrote.

While the Rays are not considered serious contenders to land Soto, they did make a 10-year, $300 million offer to Aaron Judge in the 2022-2023 offseason, as the superstar told Kristie Ackert of The Tampa Bay Times last summer . .

Judge ultimately re-signed with the Yankees for nine years, $360 million, but the Rays made a respectable offer in the process.

Could Tampa do the same with Soto? That seems unlikely, as Soto seems destined to land the richest contract in baseball history or the second-highest rating. Soto is rumored to be looking for a $700 million deal, but could end up somewhere between $600 and 650 million.

For now, the Soto sweepstakes appears to be a two-team race between the Yankees and Mets. The Bronx Bombers would like to bring back Soto after he helped them reach the World Series for the first time since 2009. But the Mets have owner Steve Cohen in his pockets, who is trying to build a sustainable winner.

Soto, who just turned 26 years old, is the type of player that any organization can build around for the future. The young star is in the Hall of Fame and will likely sign a historic deal this season with several teams vying for his services.