There's not a group chat auction...Teams present their offers, the agent goes back to the teams the player actually wants to play for, they have an opportunity to respond. I doubt these decisions are made on the margins with back and forths happening based on a couple million bucks.
I think it’s pretty clear that the Dodgers, Mets, Yankees, and Sox are all finalists, and that SF and Philly might be, too. I say that because it’s been reported that he’s in the process of meeting with the Mets, Yanks, and Sox on their home territory, and because non of these teams has attempted to mitigate the PR damage of an unsuccessful courtship by announcing that they are out.
If those are, in fact, the finalists, then it may well be that they are all acceptable to him and it really will come down to who will pay the most. Of course it’s also possible that one or more are not truly under consideration because he does have a preference, but he wants to keep them in the game to help drive up the price.
However you slice it, though, I don’t think there’s anything at this point to suggest that an extra million here or there will *not* make the difference.