The New York Mets have signed free agent outfielder Juan Soto to the largest contract in professional sports history. Soto and the Mets came to terms late Sunday night on a 15 year, $765M contract, eclipsing Shohei Ohtani’s record setting deal signed last offseason.
The pact features an opt-out after 5 years, and unlike Ohtani’s deal, includes no deferred money. If Soto chooses not to opt out, his deal features an escalator which will tack on another $4M per season, bringing his AAV to $55M per season and the total value to over $800M.
It’s believed that the contract will include a $75M signing bonus as well.
The 26 year old will now shift from the Bronx to Queens as he’ll trade in his pinstripes to join the crosstown Mets for what could be the remainder of his career. Soto wound up choosing the Mets over competing offers from the Yankees, Red Sox, Dodgers, and Blue Jays. While final numbers were never publicly revealed, it’s been speculated that Mets owner Steve Cohen’s $765M offer was the most lucrative of the contracts on the table.
Fresh off a season in which he hit .288, with 41 HRs, 109 RBIs, 128 runs scored, and 7 stolen bases, Soto will settle into the heart of a Mets lineup that averaged 4.75 runs scored per game in 2024, good for 7th best in the majors. His offensive output led the Dominican born slugger to a 3rd place finish in AL MVP voting, finishing behind teammate Aaron Judge and Royals SS Bobby Witt Jr.
While both the term and value of the contract are enough to cause some to believe Soto can never live up to that kind of commitment from the Mets, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com offers a different way to look at the historic deal:
“There is reason to believe Soto will age well, considering his 160 career OPS+ ranks eighth in MLB history among players through their age-25 seasons (minimum 3,000 PA). The seven names in front of him are either inducted in Cooperstown or on their way toward enshrinement: Ty Cobb, Mickey Mantle, Mike Trout, Jimmie Foxx, Albert Pujols, Tris Speaker and Rogers Hornsby. Only Mantle and Foxx had a better career on-base percentage at that age than Soto, who boasts the highest career OBP of any active player. Over more than 4,000 plate appearances, he owns a .285/.421/.532 slash line.”
Indeed Soto is a generational talent, but there’s plenty that can go sideways over the course of a decade and a half. Much of which has little to do with things the Mets can control. It’s believed that the Queens based club is currently seeking out a massive insurance policy on their free agent acquisition to somewhat shield them financially should Soto be severely injured at some point.
Nevertheless, the Scott Boras represented All-Star comes out on top after betting on himself and turning down a (then) eye popping $440M contract offer from the Nationals back in 2022.
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