The Juan Soto sweepstakes is dominating the baseball world, and properly so. Many baseball observers anticipate Soto signing his huge contract during the winter meetings in December. There has been a lot of conjecture regarding the possible amount of his next contract, but estimates range between $600 million and $700 million. The final five teams in the sweepstakes appear to be the Toronto Blue Jays, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, New York Mets, and, unsurprisingly, the Los Angeles Dodgers. ESPN’s David Schoenfield predicts Soto will sign a 13-year, $611 million contract with the Mets, leaving the Yankees after only one year in the Bronx. The Mets have a lot of gaps to fill, with so many players.
In free agency — including Alonso and three-fifths of a starting rotation in Sean Manaea, Jose Quintana, and Luis Severino — but they are positioned to reload because their payroll now sits at approximately $160 million, or less than half of their projected $336 million in 2024,” Schoenfield noted. “With owner Steve Cohen’s checkbook, money isn’t an issue — indeed, if the Mets decide they must have Soto, it’s hard to imagine any team, including the Yankees, outbidding Cohen.”
It will be extremely difficult to outbid Cohen. If he is determined to obtain Soto and refuses to be outbid, he may offer the great outfielder $700 million and watch the rest of the league burn to the ground. And getting Soto is exactly what the Mets should do. Last season, New York lost to the Dodgers in the National League Championship Series. The Dodgers have already improved from last season by bringing Blake Snell into the rotation. Signing Soto would be an excellent response from the Mets.
Leave a Reply