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New York Yankees star outfielder Juan Soto is an impending free agent, and the New York Mets have been heavily connected to him as a possible landing spot.
Undeniably, that would be a massive blow for the Yankees, and one front office executive had this to say on the matter to Jon Heyman of the New York Post.
“Going from the Yankees to the Mets … that’s a buzzkill,” the exec said.
Soto, who just turned 26 years old, is a four-time All-Star. He led the American League with 128 runs while adding 41 home runs, 109 RBI and a .989 OPS.
Soto has also been exceptional in the playoffs, none moreso than when he hit a three-run homer in Game 5 of the American League Championship Series to lead the Yanks to a 5-2, 10-inning win over the Cleveland Guardians. That vaulted New York to its first AL pennant in 15 years.
He landed in New York last offseason in a blockbuster trade with the San Diego Padres. Given his tremendous regular season and playoffs, it’s very possible he lands the second-richest contract in MLB history, behind only Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani’s $700 million deal.
Heyman reported earlier in October that the new “whisper number” for Soto is $600 million. At this juncture, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Soto hit that mark, and the Mets could be very willing to offer that amount.
Mets owner Steve Cohen hasn’t been shy about spending copious amounts of money in his short tenure. The team notably topped MLB’s payroll list each of the past two seasons.
In the end, Heyman wonders if the Yanks could hang with the Mets in a bidding war.
“For all of that, the Yankees want to keep him. Heck, every team should want him and many will bid on him. But I believe Hal Steinbrenner is serious about trying to draw the Yankees down from a $300 million-plus payroll, and so he will probably say ‘Uncle’ in a mano-a-mano bidding war with Uncle Stevie. But will Cohen go all-out? He should.”
We’ll find out soon enough how serious the Mets are willing to get to pry Soto from the Yanks. Of course, he should have other suitors as well. The San Francisco Giants have been mentioned as a suitor, per Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. And multiple MLB.com reporters posited the Washington Nationals, Soto’s old team.
Soto once turned down a 15-year, $440 million contract to remain with the Nationals before he was later traded to San Diego. That turned out to be a wise financial move, as he’ll be making a lot more than that this offseason.
The question is from whom, but right now, Soto and the Yankees are focused on winning the franchise’s first World Series since 2009, beginning Friday for Game 1 at the Los Angeles Dodgers.
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