The Mets sign Juan Soto

MLB contract records were shattered Sunday night when the Mets reached agreement on a stunning 15-year, $765 million deal with the superstar free agent Juan Sotoaccording to a report by Jon Heyman of the New York Post. According to Jeff Passan of ESPN, the deal contains no deferred money and includes escalators that can push the contract above $800 million. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports that the deal includes a huge $75 million signing bonus, while Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports that Soto’s deal contains an opt-out after his age-30 season in 2029. Jorge Castillo of ESPN notes that the Mets will have the opportunity to clear that waiver by adding an additional $4 million per year to the final ten years of his deal, which would allow the deal to max out at $805 million over 15 years.

Brokered by the Boras Corporation, Soto’s deal is the largest in the history of professional sports, wiping out more than just the deal’s net present value of $461 million. Shohei Ohtani landed with the Dodgers last winter, but so did the $700 million sticker price Ohtani signed for before accounting for record deferrals on that deal. Soto’s average annual value of $51 million also eclipses the MLB player record, previously held by Ohtani, by a significant margin.

Soto is the first true $500 million, $600 million, $700 million and $50 million player, all in one epic contract. The deal brings to mind Boras’ 10-year, $252 million contract with the Rangers Alex Rodriguez 24 years ago, announced at the Winter Meetings at the same Anatole Hotel in Dallas, this seems to be it.

The Mets weren’t the only team willing to go all out to land Soto, as Heyman reports that the Yankees’ final offer for the slugger was $760 million over 16 years. MassLive’s Sean McAdam, meanwhile, reports that the Red Sox have offered Soto $700 million over 15 years. Either of these deals would have shattered all expectations entering the offseason; MLBTR projected a 13-year, $600 million contract for Soto as part of our annual list of the top 50 MLB free agents.

The 26-year-old phenom’s free agency was one of the most anticipated in MLB history. The superstar is seemingly headed for a record-breaking deal since turning down a $440 million extension offer from the Nationals through the 2022 season. Given the $54 million Soto earned in his final two years of arbitration, the Nationals’ offer ultimately equated to $386 million for 13 years as a free agent, a figure that Soto nearly doubled tonight.

Soto’s prescient decision on the Nationals’ offer prompted a trade with the Padres. Already a career 152 WRC+ hitter entering the 2021 season, he has been even better since then with a .279/.423/.520 slash line that was good for a 161 WRC+.

The huge deal secured the Mets one of the most talented hitters in the sport. Soto had a platform season for the ages in 2024 after being traded from the Padres to the Yankees, slashing .288/.419/.569 (180 wRC+) in 157 games while hitting 41 homers and walking (18.1%) more than he had scored. out (16.7%). In an era where the strikeout rate is on the rise, it’s Soto’s otherworldly discipline that makes him stand out from the crowd. He has recorded more unintentional walks than strikeouts in each of the last five seasons and has led the majors in unintentional walks three times over his career.

Soto’s 769 career unintentional walks put him at No. 11 in the active rankings after just seven seasons in the majors. Of the ten players in front of him, alone Cristiano Yelich (770 walks in 12 seasons) e Bryce Harper (1,035 walks in 13 seasons) don’t have at least double the number of years Soto has in the league. That sensational batting eye allows Soto to age much better than players who get their value through speed and elite defense, which surely has helped make the Mets (and other interested clubs) more willing to shatter records to get Soto’s services. Soto is so good at drawing walks that he has gained notoriety for his pitching, which sometimes requires the Soto Shuffle.

It’s important to note that Soto made his MLB debut in 2018 at just 19 years old, allowing him to hit free agency at the rare age of 26. Top MLB superstars are occasionally paid until age 40, which in Soto’s case means the longest contract in MLB history at 15 years. Soto’s youth, as well as his path to the Hall of Fame, make this deal possible.

Soto has amassed a baseball-reference 36.4 WAR through age 25, which ranks 17th all-time. Mike Trout he is the only other active player on that list. Of the other 15, 12 are in the Hall of Fame, another is a lock to enter Albert Pujolsand Alex Rodriguez would be there if it weren’t for steroid use. The only reason Soto isn’t ranked higher is his below-average outside defense, although this has been completely ignored by his free agent suitors given the $700 million-and-up offers.

One thing Soto has that his Hall of Fame peers don’t (aside from free agency rights, of course) is Statcast. Modern GMs highly value Statcast metrics that demonstrate how hard a player hits the ball, and Soto’s numbers regularly reside in the 99th percentile. It’s key evidence that Soto’s elite offense is sustainable for many years.

Soto is set to enter the prime of his already illustrious career in a Mets uniform. He will patrol right field and pair with the star shortstop Francesco Lindor to create a scary 1-2 that should give the Mets a reasonable facsimile of the incredible partnership between Soto and Aaron judge that helped take the Yankees from an 82-80 season in 2023 to a 94-win season and an AL pennant last season. The Mets, meanwhile, were much closer to becoming a top team even before adding Soto: Their 2024 season saw the club win 89 games and make their way into the NLCS, where they ultimately fell to the eventual World Champions Dodgers in six games. . In addition to Lindor, Soto will be protected in the lineup by the presence of his fellow corner outfielder Brandon Nimmo and an intriguing group of young people like Marco Vientos AND Francesco Álvarez.

With Soto now in the fold, there is little evidence the Mets will slow down from here on out with several key needs still needing to be filled. It still seems likely that the club will make a corner addition on the pitch, whether it be a reunion with Pietro Alonso or perhaps the addition of a third baseman who could allow Vientos to move from the hot corner to forward. Additionally, the Mets are known to be looking for at least one more starting pitcher after adding him previously Clay Holmes AND Frankie Montas to their rotation along with the starting starters Kodai Senga AND David Peterson. It also wouldn’t be a surprise to see the club help Target Relief supplement a bullpen that has seen a number of key pieces including Phil Maton, Drew SmithAND Brooks Raley leave for free agency.

The Mets will have plenty of assets with which to make those additions. Even after landing a record-breaking deal with Soto, the club will make $241 million in 2025, according to RosterResource. While that would be close to the spending caps for most clubs, that figure gives the Mets about $95 million of flexibility to work with before running up against the $336 million in payroll they posted in 2024. Things are even better for the luxury tax. purposes, as the club’s projected $251 million luxury tax payroll is more than $100 million less than last year’s figure of $358 million. This should give the Mets ample room to explore more impactful additions to the roster.

Now that the marquee free agent of the offseason has finally been removed, expect a flurry of activity around the league during the winter meetings in Dallas this week as both free agents and trade candidates who had been slowed by the presence Soto’s could start to move. Other free agent corner outfielders Teoscar Hernandez AND Antonio Santander imagine seeing their markets bounce back in a big way now that the Yankees, Red Sox, Dodgers and Blue Jays are ready to explore their various contingency plans for failing to land Soto.

Other expensive free agents like Massimo Fritto, Corbin BurnesAND Alex Bregmann Likewise we could see an increase in movement with the top dog of the winter no longer in scene, and it is also possible that some expensive pieces available on the commercial market such as Cody Bellinger AND Nolan Arenado they may start to see more action in the coming days.

The Yankees, in particular, figure to be aggressive after failing in their attempt to retain Soto and have long been expected to be aggressive in their search for impact talent to replace Soto’s production should they fail in a Subway Series offering. war. Hernandez, Bellinger, Burnes and Fried are all among the names that have emerged in connection with the Bronx in recent weeks who seem more plausible as targets now that Soto has left for Queens.