As promised, Juan Soto made his decision prior to the Winter Meetings. Unfortunately for Yankees fans, it was pretty much the worst case scenario:
BREAKING: Superstar outfielder Juan Soto and the New York Mets are in agreement on a 15-year, $765 million contract, sources tell ESPN. It is the largest deal in professional sports history.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 9, 2024
Unbelievably, Soto blew Shohei Ohtani's $700 million million deal from last year out of the water. Soto's AAV of $51 million per season is the most in baseball history, and his contract is the single largest in North American sports history.
And, unlike Ohtani's contract, none of Soto's money is deferred. Steve Cohen truly committed winning the war for Soto.
Juan Soto's 15-year, $765 million deal with the New York Mets includes no deferred money, according to sources, and has escalators that can reach above $800 million.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 9, 2024
At 26 years old, Soto should have plenty of his prime left. The Mets, after surprisingly making the NLCS in 2024, should be one of the favorites to win the World Series for the next decade.
New era of NY baseball is beginning after Soto chooses Mets over Yankees
The Yankees and Mets were always presumed to be the favorites for Soto, since it was known that he enjoyed his time with the former in 2024 and that only the Dodgers could really keep pace in the bidding with those two financial behemoths.
One of the most fascinating developments from this signing is that the Yankees weren't outbid for Soto — by all accounts, they made a nearly identical offer for the outfielder (though their deal may have been littered with deferrals and/or opt-outs). Instead, Soto merely chose the Mets, even after enjoying a career year with the Yankees.
The Yankees’ final offer to Soto was 16 years and $760 million, per source. That’s a $47.5 million AAV; the Mets offer was for a $51 million AAV.
— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) December 9, 2024
Soto, a career .285/.421/.532 hitter who's been 60% better than the league-average batter by OPS+, hit a career high 41 home runs and scored a career best 128 runs while hitting in front of two-time AL MVP Aaron Judge in 2024. It's somewhat shocking that he'd choose to leave the comfort of Judge's titanic presence in the lineup, but perhaps Soto wanted to be the star of his own team in the Big Apple.
Now, he'll get to play with Francisco Lindor, though his arrival will likely push Pete Alonso out the door. Regardless, he'll now be competing with Ohtani for both the NL Pennant and MVP after besting the Japanese star's contract in free agency.
The Yankees, meanwhile, have to try and pivot a rapidly-thinning position player market to replace Soto. Willy Adames is already off the board, but the Yankees could strike back at the Mets and sign Alonso to be their starting first baseman.
The fallout of this deal is enormous, and will stretch across the baseball landscape for the next decade. On the eve of the Winter Meetings, the Mets have established themselves as the Yankees' biggest rival, not just in terms of geography, but also the size of their wallet.
UPDATE: According to ESPN's Jorge Castillo, Soto has a fifth-year opt-out that can be voided if the Mets tack on an extra $4 million per season to the final ten years of his deal (raising his AAV to $55 million, and the total value of the deal to a whopping $805 million).
Soto can either opt out after the fifth year (2029) or receive a $4 million raise per season — from $51 million to $55 million — for the remainder of the contract, per source. https://t.co/3Vh6pXJ8ZB
— Jorge Castillo (@jorgecastillo) December 9, 2024