According to several reports on Sunday, superstar outfielder Juan Soto has agreed to a 15-year, $765 million contract with the New York Mets. The biggest contract in sports history is this one.
In a daring move by a team that has long been eclipsed by the Bronx Bombers, the now-former Yankees star is moving across town to Queens.
The news that Soto was leaving Yankee Stadium for Citi Field and free-spending was first reported by ESPN.Based on data from Baseball Prospectus, Mets owner Steve Cohen spent an MLB-high $341.8 million on his 40-man roster for the 2024 season.
Cohen hasn’t held back when it comes to opening his checkbook, and this is his largest investment to yet.
Shortstop Francisco Lindor has a $341 million, ten-year contract. In 2023, Cohen shipped both of the well-known pitchers away after spending $130 million on Max Scherzer and $86.7 million on Justin Verlander.
The Mets overcame a 24-35 start to qualify for the playoffs and force the Los Angeles Dodgers, the eventual world champions, to play Game 6 of the National League Championship Series this past season.
With 768 runs, the seventh-highest total in baseball, the NL East team possessed a potent offensive. The addition of Soto should improve New York’s offense or at the very least mitigate the impact of the potential free agency loss of first baseman Pete Alonso.
The AL-champion Yankees, who lost the World Series to Los Angeles in five games in October, may suffer a serious blow with Soto’s departure.
In 2024, the Yankees had the third-best offensive in MLB, scoring 815 runs with a top-heavy lineup that is now suddenly without a vital player.
Along with Giancarlo Stanton (72) and Aaron Judge (144), the American League MVP, Soto scored 109 runs for the Yankees, forming a potent combination.
However, the champion Dodgers had five batters with at least 75 RBI, while they were the only three Bombers with at least 72. In 2024, five of the Mets’ hitters had at least 69 RBI.
Since their founding in 1962, the Mets have won two World Series (1969 and 1986).
New York’s NL team has long struggled to shed the lengthy shadow cast by the 27-time champion New York Yankees, even if those two titles account for two of the most famous teams in baseball in the 20th century: the Miracle Mets and the dominant 1986 squad.
The signing of Soto is the Mets’ most aggressive attempt to deprive the Yankees of the Big Apple spotlight to date.
The 26-year-old Soto was by far the most sought-after free agent this winter, prized as much for his exceptional baseball abilities as his birthdate.
Before being permitted to fully test free agency, baseball players must serve six years in Major League Baseball. Those six years of club control at below-market pay may deter free agents who may be nearing or have already passed their athletic prime, which is about age thirty.
As a 19-year-old sensation, Soto made his major league debut, starting the clock on free agency early and giving suitors a unique opportunity to acquire a player with so many more years of prime left in his career.
This season, he hit a career-high 41 home runs (fourth most) and 109 RBIs (sixth most) in those two classic MLB statistics.
One of baseball’s most patient and disciplined hitters, Soto drew walks in 18.1% of his plate appearances in 2024, compared to the MLB average of 8.4%. Additionally, Soto struck out just 16.7% of the time this season, compared to the league’s 22.2% whiffed rate in an era of swing-for-the-fences baseball.
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