Fresh off signing the most lucrative contract in baseball history, Juan Soto was introduced as a member of the New York Mets on Thursday. But he probably shouldn’t expect many congratulatory texts from his now-former Yankees teammates.
Soto — who helped lead the Yankees to their first World Series appearance since 2009 — decided to sign with the crosstown rivals for a 15-year, $765 million deal. Given how crucial Soto was to the Yankees’ success in 2024, one might have expected more of a recruitment effort from players like Aaron Judge or Gerrit Cole. But that wasn’t the case at all.
Speaking to reporters, Soto was asked if he had talked to any Yankees players during the free agency process. And that was when Soto revealed that he hadn’t spoken to any of them since leaving the clubhouse for the final time.
Juan Soto when asked if he has spoken to any of his former Yankees teammates:
If that didn’t indicate just how unhappy Soto was with the Yankees’ clubhouse atmosphere, I don’t know what does. Typically, team leaders would do what they could to support (or even subtly recruit) a free agent of Soto’s caliber. Yet, in this case, the silence seemed mutual.
He was ready to move on from the Yankees, and he made that clear on Thursday.
Juan Soto’s decision to sign with the Mets for a record-shattering deal wasn’t much of a surprise within baseball circles. The number was always going to be astronomical, and the Mets had deep pockets to make it happen.
According to the New York Post, Soto wanted the Yankees to provide his family with a suite for the duration of the contract. The Yankees — having already made Derek Jeter and Aaron Judge pay for their own suites in the past — didn’t want to ignore precedent and give Soto a multimillion-dollar perk. Instead, they offered Soto that suite at a discounted rate.
Mets owner Steve Cohen, on the other hand, was more than willing to give Soto a suite at Citi Field and got the deal done. Yankees general manager Brian Cashman was asked about the suite saga, and he essentially said that a player making that much should be OK paying for his own suite.
Brian Cashman said he has “no regrets” with how the Juan Soto negotiations played out and doesn’t think the Yankees could have done anything differently. He also said that he does not believe Soto’s request for a suite, nor a reported issue with club security, played any part.…
“Some high-end players that make a lot of money for us, if they want suites, they buy them.”
Cashman also added that he had no regrets about how the Yankees handled their negotiations. And Yankees fans loved how Cashman implied that Soto could have afforded his own suite because, well, look at that contract.
If you told me that the Yankees would lose Juan Soto and I wouldn’t be upset at Cashman or the front office at all, I would’ve laughed in your face but I think they did the right thing based on all the nonsense that’s come out about the negotiations so far https://t.co/EXoXKeYHbX
this isn’t a charity. u got offered 760, buy ur own suite. ur not jeter and ur not judge. what a ridiculous ask that only a baby organization would bend over to fulfill https://t.co/elp5vZDbGg
To the surprise of many, the Yankees actually came close to matching the Mets’ record-shattering $765 million contract to Juan Soto. And at face value, 16 years, $760 million seemed like a sweet deal to stay in pinstripes.
But Soto was looking for a suite deal.
According to a report from the New York Post’s Jon Heyman, Soto grew discouraged with the Yankees’ unwillingness to provide him with a luxury suite for his family at Yankee Stadium. Instead, the Yankees insisted that Soto pay for the suite himself at a discounted rate. Meanwhile, the Mets were willing to give Soto his suite at Citi Field.
Since the Yankees had made Derek Jeter and Aaron Judge pay for their suites, they didn’t want to set a different precedent with Soto. Via the Post:
The Yankees shouldn’t be faulted for bidding a whopping $760M, but they wouldn’t budge on the suite. The Yankees felt they couldn’t give a suite to Soto when Judge pays for his suite, and even Derek Jeter paid. They were willing to discount a suite but not alter their precedent.
When you think about it, though, that does make some sense — especially when you’re looking at the cost of that request. Suites at Yankee Stadium can go for upwards of $25,000 for a single game. And while the Yankees did offer Soto a discounted rate, you’re looking at around a $20 million perk over the 16 years on top of that $760 million deal.
Mets owner Steve Cohen, on the other hand, didn’t care about the cost effectiveness here. He wanted Soto and was going to do whatever it took.
Good morning, Winners! Welcome back to the Morning Win. Thanks for reading today. We appreciate you.
Now that the dust has settled from the sticker shock of Juan Soto’s megadeal with the Mets, we’ve collectively moved on to the next stage: The backlash.
That’s typically how free agency works across sports. The star player hits the market. Then, the star player signs a huge contract we’ve never seen before. Fans see the headlines about the deal and are in awe. Then that awe turns into “Well, is this actually a good deal?” and that’s where we’re now.
Juan Soto is overpaid. At least, according to two of the premier baseball analysts in the zeitgeist, he is.
“Do we really believe that either Brian Cashman (Yankees GM) or David Stearns (Mets president baseball operations) is saying to their owner, ‘You know what? It’s a good baseball deal to give this guy $51 million when we know he’s probably going to be a DH for most of his career,” Olney said. “There’s no chance that happens. This is all about the two owners.”
Passan suggested that the Yankees might be “better off” long-term for missing out on Juan Soto. “This is not a good baseball deal. It’s just not. In the context of everything else in the sport, it is an exceptional overpay,” he said.
Here’s the thing: They’re absolutely right. This is an overpay.
Paying a guy $51 million annually for the next 15 years will certainly not make it easy to build the rest of the team out year after year moving forward. Unlike Ohtani’s megadeal last year, there are no deferrals there. This isn’t a “team-friendly” contract. It’s Juan Soto hitting the lottery.
But, guys. Let’s not overthink it. This is Juan Soto. He’s a 26-year-old slugger who is still a beast in the outfield and has one of the most unique batting styles we’ve seen. Even if he is a designated hitter in, say, five to seven years, so what? His OBP might still be stupidly good. He’s won’t magically suck in two years.
The Mets saw the opportunity to go get a guy that could get the franchise over the hump and Steve Cohen had the cash to make it happen. So why not go get the guy?
Sure, the Mets could’ve played it prudently and spread that money out a bit. But New York probably wasn’t going to win a World Series that way, either. As they say: Scared money doesn’t make money. And Steve Cohen has more money than anyone in that league. Might as well spend it!
Good on the Mets. Go win it all now.
The Cowboys broke Micah Parsons
Boy, I cannot WAIT to hear Micah Parsons on his podcast this week. What are the chances he demands a trade? Gotta be a greater than zero percent chance after Monday Night Football.
“The Bengals were set to punt the ball away after the two-minute warning when the Cowboys blocked the punt! However, the Cowboys made the unfortunate mistake of touching the ball after the block and not recovering it, meaning the Bengals got possession back with a chance to score for the lead.
And score they did, as the Bengals went right down the field and made the game 27-20, which is how the game ended when all was said and done.”
I, for one, didn’t even know you could muff a blocked punt. Anyway, that led to Parsons losing it on the sideline. He looks so confused. To be fair, we all were.
After Monday night’s game against the Raptors, it seems to be so. The game wasn’t anything special, really. But the moment that came after Towns hit a big shot to essentially seal the game felt like a pivotal one — at least in the scope of his career.
He hits the big 3-pointer and then points to his jersey.
Towns has been on the Knicks for months at this point, but this felt like the moment he became a Knick.
Good for KAT, man. He’s been one of the most maligned NBA players in the league since being drafted. Folks questioned his personality fit when the Timberwolves traded him to New York. People didn’t think he could take the bright lights.
Seems to be fitting in well so far.
Quick hits: The best moments from the Simpsons-cast … Jimmy Butler trade destinations … and more
While a difference of $5 million would change lives for most people, this is effectively the same contract with figures that large. So why would Soto then decide to jump ship?
According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan during an appearance on SportsCenter with Scott Van Pelt, this was perhaps an evaluation on the future trajectories of the franchises.
"I think Juan Soto looked at the New York Mets' future … and believed that the Mets have a better future than Yankees."@JeffPassan tells @notthefakeSVP on why Soto chose the Mets over the Yankees despite only a $5M difference 👀 pic.twitter.com/lL4bXmARGD
“The Mets weren’t that much at a different place than the New York Yankees were. The Yankees had a $760 million, only $5 million less spread out over 16 years, so it wasn’t a huge demonstrable difference. At the end, I think Juan Soto looked at the New York Mets future and looked at the New York Yankees future and believed that the Mets have a better future than the Yankees.”
Let that sink in for a second.
The Mets, long considered the LOL Mets for their consistent misfortune, ushered in a changing of the guard.
Here is more context from Passan:
“The Yankees have been the most successful franchise in North American sports history. They have 27 championships. They New York Mets have been the New York Mets. And so to see the transformation that Steve Cohen has helped make with this franchise over the last four years after he bought it, to turn them from laughing stock to the team that Juan Soto wants to play with because he believes that they are going to have a brighter future, speaks volumes about what he has been able to do since he has bought the team. This, I think, is just the beginning. They are going to spend more money. They are going to continue to have payrolls like this.”
The Mets still have more decisions to make this offseason, including whether or not they will re-sign first baseman Pete Alonso and starting pitcher Sean Manaea.
But based on Passan’s characterization of Soto’s assessment, it seems very likely that this team isn’t done spending with the hopes of creating a threat and juggernaut in the National League.
As the baseball world waits for news on where Juan Soto will sign, fans are holding on to clues wherever they can possibly get them.
One unlikely but potential source is the comments of a post on TikTok. But while others have remained fairly tight-lipped during the free agency process thus far leading up to the MLB winter meetings, some actual information on the New York Yankees star may have slipped through the cracks.
While none of this is confirmed and is purely speculative, the idea is that the son of New York Mets manager Carlos Mendoza may have provided a bit too much insider knowledge to his social media.
But why should anyone believe that this account belongs to Mendoza’s son?
His next comment said “bro do you know who inam” [sic] and if you go to his profile, the Mets are in his bio.
The two videos he has posted are both of the Mets, including one practicing with star short stop Francisco Lindor. The other caption is “my dad’s speech good?” with a video of Mendoza.
His username includes the name Adrian and Mendoza has two sons, and the eldest is a 12-year-old named Adrian. Hmmmmm!
30-year-old right-handed pitcher Luis Severino is leaving the Mets to sign with the Athletics and he is getting paid handsomely by his new club.
Severino enjoyed a strong season with New York, helping lead the Mets to an appearance in the NLCS against the Dodgers. He was a starter in three games for New York during their postseason, lasting six innings in two of his starts.
While he played an important role in the rotation for the Mets, he was not necessarily throwing consistently like a bona fide staff ace either.
Yet as a free agent, he just managed to sign what became the largest contract guarantee in franchise history for the Athletics, per ESPN’s Jeff Passan. New York will receive draft compensation in return. Here are more details about the move (via ESPN):
“By stretching themselves financially — their previous high deal was a six-year, $66 million extension for Eric Chavez in 2004, and their biggest free agent outlay was three years and $30 million for Billy Butler — the A’s convinced Severino to anchor their rotation.”
Although he is far from a scrub and has made two MLB All-Star appearances during his professional career, a three-year deal for $67 million is considered “well above” his market expectations.
Some believed that Severino would have accepted a one-year qualifying deal worth approximately $21.0 million, but instead, he will make more annually over three seasons.
However, for the next few seasons, Severino will pitch his home games in a minor league ballpark in Sacramento before the franchise eventually settles in Las Vegas.
Perhaps the Athletics overpaid to land his services in their starting rotation due to their unusual relocation, but if this is an indication of how much it will cost to land a quality starter, teams must prepare to loosen their purse strings.
Either way, this would have been an expensive bill for Steve Cohen and the Mets that the Athletics will pay instead.
The Yankees and Mets are the favorites but not the only options.
New York Yankees slugger Juan Soto is the biggest star available in the MLB and fans are eagerly awaiting to find out where he will sign.
After helping lead the Yankees to win the American League before falling short to the Dodgers in the 2024 World Series, the 26-year-old outfielder and former National League batting champion will have a robust market awaiting him.
While it is unclear if he will sign the most lucrative contract in baseball history, it is possible that his deal could at least approach that territory or potentially reach its own milestone.
After meeting with a handful of teams around the league, here are the latest rumors about Soto and how he could fit with the top suitors.
New York Yankees
Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner described it as a “good meeting” and called signing Soto a “priority” for their offseason, per The Athletic. Steinbrenner, however, has previously called New York’s payroll “not sustainable” and the organization is also reportedly prepared for scenarios in which the slugger does not re-sign with the franchise.
For what it is worth, though, 12 out of the 18 MLB executives polled by ESPN’s Jesse Rogers believed Soto will remain with the Yankees.
New York Mets
Perhaps the most likely spoiler for the Yankees is their crosstown rival in New York. As we wrote earlier this month, Soto is getting recruited to the Mets by Francisco Lindor.
The Mets are reportedly willing to spend $50 million more than any other team in this free agency pursuit, per Yankees announcer Michael Kay. He is currently expected to take the biggest offer with the most money and most years, per The Athletic, which makes the Mets a very likely option thanks to owner Steve Cohen.
Los Angeles Dodgers
According to his agent, Soto’s biggest priority is winning. If that is the case, he will have the best chance to do so in Los Angeles. There are some reports that Soto prefers to play on the East Coast, but New York Post reporter Jon Heyman said a confidant “downplayed” the importance of geography in this decision.
However, per The Athletic, it would reportedly be “seen as an upset in the industry” if Soto does not sign with one of the two teams in New York. ESPN’s Jeff Passan added that the Dodgers “won’t chase after” Soto after the organization landed Shohei Ohtani.
San Francisco Giants
San Francisco is reportedly one of the mystery teams for Soto and have a “legit” chance to get him, per Heyman. The organization reportedly tried to trade for him last year before the Padres eventually dealt him to the Yankees, and they were one of the only front offices to actually offer $700 million to Ohtani in 2023 as well.
San Francisco, however, is expected to reduce payroll next season so signing Soto is antithetical to that route.
Toronto Blue Jays
One player who shares an agent with Soto reportedly said the Blue Jays are prepared to make an “astronomical” offer to Soto, per NJ.com. Much like the Giants, the franchise tried to trade for the slugger and also made an offer for Ohatani last season but came up short on both. Passan reported that Toronto is “serious” about trying to sign Soto.
However, as noted by Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, would it even make sense to try to secure Soto before even having Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette signed to long-term contract extensions?
Boston Red Sox
Boston is another organization with Soto at the “top of its want list” this offseason, per Passan. Like the Blue Jays, the Red Sox are reportedly also chasing all of the top pitchers available this offseason as well.
Soto was “impressed” by Boston’s presentation during their meeting, per Jim Bowden of The Athletic. But are they close enough to contending for him to actually sign there?
No meetings yet but possible suitors: Philadelphia Phillies, Washington Nationals, Tampa Bay Rays, Houston Astros, San Diego Padres
Juan Soto is the biggest free agent available in the MLB.
After a shocking postseason run in 2024, the New York Mets are looking to improve by potentially adding a crosstown rival from the New York Yankees.
Although the Mets and Yankees did not actually get to face off against each other in the MLB World Series for the first time in more than two decades, they will have their own competition this offseason in the free agency pursuit of Juan Soto.
According to baseball insider Jeff Passan, the Mets and Yankees are the “two favorites” to sign the four-time MLB All-Star. Here is more from Passan on how the Mets are getting help from another star already on their roster (via ESPN):
“The Mets’ pursuit has gotten a hand from shortstop Francisco Lindor, who would love another star in Queens and has taken a role in recruiting Soto, while the Yankees can point to Soto’s excellence in the Bronx this season as a precursor for more.”
Lindor, also a four-time All-Star, came to the Mets in 2021 and was in contention for the National League MVP this past season.
The presence of both Lindor and Soto would make the Mets one of the most intimidating teams in the NL again next season.
New York’s Pete Alonso is also a free agent, but it appears Mets owner Steve Cohen is willing to spend whatever it takes to make this team contend for a title.
Which team is going to pay Soto potentially around $500 million? Here are some options.
One of the biggest stars in baseball is New York Yankees slugger Juan Soto, and he is set to become a free agent at the end of the 2024 MLB postseason.
The 26-year-old outfielder has played one season with the Yankees after the franchise acquired him last offseason. He played a crucial role in helping his team win the American League pennant but could become one of the biggest names available this winter.
Already a four-time MLB All-Star and a former World Series champion, the former Nationals and Padres standout will draw significant interest from front offices around the league. But where could he sign for a deal that’s potentially worth around $500 million over the next decade or so?
Outside of some of the potential sleepers (e.g. Toronto Blue Jays, Chicago Cubs, Boston Red Sox) who could make some surprising magic happen, here are some of his most interesting options:
New York Yankees
The most obvious fit for Soto is to remain with his current employer and sign a long-term deal with the Yankees. He has had some postseason heroics with the organization and would keep them relevant contenders in a lineup already filled with talented player such as Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, and Jazz Chisholm.
New York Mets
Should he decide to leave the Yankees, another option is to remain in New York but sign with the crosstown rivals. The Mets are considered the “biggest threat” to steal Soto away from the Bronx and have him play in Queens next season instead, which would be a massive win for team owner Steve Cohen. But the big question is if the team would do this and also re-sign Pete Alonso as well.
Los Angeles Dodgers
Shocking as it sounds considering how deep their roster already looks, the Dodgers are another team that could have serious interest in Soto. This is a team willing to spend whatever it takes to make themselves a dominant force on the baseball field and they could continue that relevancy with a big splash like this one.
Washington Nationals
Another possible option for Soto is the Nationals, where he began his career and won a World Series in 2019. According to an ESPN report, Washington would reportedly “love a reunion” with Soto and perhaps the interest is even mutual. Stranger things have happened, though it could get expensive!
Before he landed with the Yankees, the San Francisco Giants were one of the teams that tried to trade for Soto. There are already whispers that new Giants executive Buster Posey could try to make a move for the former NL batting champion in his first offseason leading the franchise.
Philadelphia Phillies
The Phillies were one of the best teams in the regular season but failed to reach their expectations during the postseason. He would offer a potential remedy for Philadelphia and could have provide another strong bat in a lineup that already features Bryce Harper, who shares an agent with Soto. Their front office is expected to “strongly pursue” him when the season ends.