NEW YORK, NY — Juan Soto is a New York Met.
The Juan Soto free agency sweepstakes officially came to an end on Sunday night, as the 26-year-old Dominican superstar reportedly agreed to a lucrative 15-year deal with the New York Mets worth approximately $765 million.
OMG: Juan Soto lands with the Mets on a $765 million deal – Image Credit: Simon Lindenblatt/Latino Sports
The largest contract in all of professional sports, featuring no deferrals, an annual average value (AAV) of $51 million from 2025-2039, a $75 million signing bonus, and a player/team opt-out clause after 2029 with escalators that can reach $800 million total — according to several reports.
Regarding the player/team option and more, Mark Feinsand of MLB Network provided additional contract details, by posting on X, formerly known as Twitter, “Soto will earn a total of $305 million during the first five years of his Mets deal: $220M in salary and a $75M signing bonus, per source. That’s an AAV of $61M. He can opt out after 2029 unless the Mets raise his AAV over the final 10 years from $51M to $55M.”
Juan Soto surpassed Shohei Ohtani’s $700 million contract by $65 million, and is now the highest paid player in MLB history – Image Credit: Bill Menzel/Latino Sports
On the grand scheme of it all, this is an industry-shifting move within Major League Baseball — a star of Soto’s stature, a former LatinoMVP award winner, departing from the most iconic franchise in all of sports, the New York Yankees, for the crosstown rival Mets.
But then again, money talks during the Hot Stove season.
And in this situation, Steve Cohen’s wallet had the final say.
Steve and Alex Cohen came out as the ultimate winners of the Juan Soto free agency sweepstakes – Image Credit: George Napolitano/Latino Sports
The Yankees’ final offer for Soto was reported to be at 16-years/$760 million, which would have made for a $47.5 million AAV, while the Mets’ offer marked a larger total of $765 million, and a higher AAV (precisely $3.5 million more).
The Lindor and Soto Show in Queens
Francisco Lindor, 31, of Caguas, Puerto Rico, and Juan Soto, 26, of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, two Latino superstars representing the Mets as the pillars and faces of the franchise. An intimidating one-two tandem for any opposing pitcher to go up against, two athletes with postseason pedigree, and lastly, a duo that will more than likely have each ending up in Cooperstown.
2024 Statistics from Lindor and Soto
Lindor: .273/.344/.500 with 33 HR, 91 RBI and 29 stolen bases in 152 games
Soto: .288/.419/.569 with 41 HR, 109 RBI and 129 walks in 157 games
Francisco Lindor’s latest Instagram post on his IG story following the Juan Soto news – Image Credit: Instagram (@lindor12bc)
Lindor was reported to be in the mix, trying to lure Soto to Queens during his free agency tour, which included bidders such as the aforementioned Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays, Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers.
As Lindor now gets his wish, while the same goes for Cohen, Mets’ general manager David Stearns, and manager Carlos Mendoza, the current projected lineup for the orange and blue consists of 1. Lindor, 2. Soto, 3. Mark Vientos, 4. Brandon Nimmo, 5. Starling Marte, 6. Francisco Álvarez, 7. Jeff McNeil/Luisangel Acuña, 8. José Siri, and 9. Brett Baty.
With the Winter Meetings underway in Dallas, Texas, and Soto off the board, many expect the Mets to remain active in their offseason of spending. In which department (s)? We shall wait and see…
Steve Cohen Flexing His Wallet
During his introductory press conference in November of 2020, Cohen, the Mets’ owner and CEO, stated in regards to buying the Mets and spending an astronomical amount of money to acquire high-end talent in hopes of a World Series title, “if I can make millions of people happy, how cool is that?”
Steve Cohen did what he said he would when he first bought the Mets – Image Credit: Bill Menzel/Latino Sports
Just over four years later, on Sunday night, the 68-year-old mega-billionaire, worth over $21 billion, made all of Mets faithful, millions across the globe, more than happy with the signing of Soto.
Juan Soto is a Met
Shortly after news began to break of Soto’s agreement with the Mets, his younger brother, Elian, currently in the Washington Nationals organization, resorted to Instagram Live to douse Juan with champagne/beer, while the newest Met appeared to be on his phone, celebrating in a hot tub.
A Juan of a Kind moment for the Soto family. For the Mets organization as a whole, a day that will forever be remembered in the franchise’s history: December 8th, 2024.
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Julio Pabón
December 9, 2024 at 11:43 pm
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