The New York Yankees and Major League Baseball superstar Juan Soto agreed to a deal with the Mets of $765 million over 15 years on Dec. 8.
Soto’s deal was the largest contract in professional sports history, with Soto officially packing his bags and moving from the Bronx to Flushing to switch to New York’s other fan-favorite team.
According to NY Daily News baseball insider Bill Madden, the Mets offer to Soto would exceed $800 million. If Soto opts out of his contract after the fifth year, the Mets can keep him by adding $4 million to each contract year. If this does happen, the total amount of the deal will be $805 million, which shatters every other contract in MLB and professional sports history.
The deal comes almost exactly a year after the Los Angeles Dodgers won the Shohei Ohtani sweepstakes last offseason, signing him to $700 million across 10 years. However, to the surprise of many, the Dominican-born Soto has surpassed the deal of the two-way Ohtani.
Following Soto and Ohtani on the list are soccer legends Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, which is no surprise. Messi and Ronaldo are global superstars, on and off the pitch.
While the New York Yankees offered a final deal that reached $760 million for 16 years, Mets owner Steve Cohen didn’t hesitate to throw more money into the mix, raising his final offer to ensure the 26-year-old would come to Queens.
Soto finished with a career-high wins above replacement in 2024 of 7.9. He also posted a career-high number 41home runs. He is a four-time All-Star, 5-time Silver Slugger, 2020 National League Batting Champion and 2019 World Series Champion. Soto is a proven winner, and proven winners get paid.
Eyes now turn to the Yankees to see how they will pivot upon losing Soto to the Mets. They need to fill holes at first base, second base and the outfield. Yankees general manager Brian Cashman can now take that money that would’ve been used for Soto to improve his roster.
Some names that have popped up as options for the Yankees at first base are former Mets star Pete Alonso and Christian Walker. Alonso shares the same agent as Soto, and has expressed interest in returning to the Mets. But with the Mets signing the big fish this offseason, only time will tell if they will still be able to pay Alonso the hefty amount he wants.
Another name the Yankees have shown interest in is outfielder Anthony Santander, the right-handed slugger’s bat could help to try and plug the hole Soto’s departure leaves in the Yankee lineup. Santander hit a career-high 44 home runs in 2024, while finishing with a career high on-base plus slugging of .814.
The addition of Soto will help take the Mets to the next step toward their third World Series win in franchise history. However, Cohen and his team will need to do more work to improve the roster.
