The Mets have made a monumental move, firmly establishing themselves as a dominant force in baseball, undermining their crosstown rivals, and reshaping the New York sports scene.
According to The NY Post’s Jon Heyman, the Mets have signed Juan Soto to a groundbreaking 15-year, $765 million contract. Soto’s annual salary will be $51 million.
This contract marks the largest in the history of professional sports.
Notably, the deal does not include deferred payments and provides Soto with an opt-out option after five years.
The Yankees had extended a competing offer of 16 years for $760 million, averaging $47.5 million annually.
Soto will now join forces with Francisco Lindor, last season’s NL MVP runner-up, forming a formidable duo on a Mets team that exceeded expectations in 2024 and now enters the next season with World Series aspirations stretching into the foreseeable future.
Meanwhile, Soto’s departure leaves the Yankees reeling. Aaron Judge, the AL MVP, will lose a teammate, and the Yankees—unaccustomed to missing out on marquee free agents—will now need to regroup.
Since his debut in 2018, Soto has established himself as one of the elite hitters in the league and is currently on a Hall of Fame trajectory.
At just 26 years old, the star outfielder has proven himself as one of the most dependable sluggers in the game. He’s coming off a stellar season in which he delivered a career-high 41 home runs and an impressive .989 OPS during his single year with the Yankees.
The Yankees had given up significant assets—including Michael King, a rising star and Cy Young contender—to acquire Soto for the 2024 season.
The move resulted in a magical season, though it ended just three wins shy of a World Series title.
Any hope the Yankees had of keeping Soto for the long term evaporated in the face of Cohen’s unprecedented $765 million offer, which proved too enticing to resist.
{Matzav.com}