Juan Soto’s record-setting contract with the New York Mets was signed more than two months ago. Yet the shockwaves continue to be felt around baseball.
Perhaps eventually the 15-year, $765-million deal that the 26-year-old right fielder signed with the Mets will become accepted as the norm. However, Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns, who officially completed the deal on Dec. 11, still shakes his head when he thinks about the contract.
Not that Stearns does so in a negative way. He has zero buyer’s remorse. However, Stearns is still amazed that he had a hand in the largest contract in sports history.
Here is how Stearns puts it into perspective: His daughter, who is currently in kindergarten, will be a senior in college when the contract expires.
“There are many of us in these jobs that aren’t going to be there to see the end of the contract,” Stearns said with a smile. “Where are you going to be in 15 years? If I’m still doing this job, then a lot has gone right. I will say that if I am doing this job when my daughter is about to finish up college then things are OK.
“It just boggles my mind still. It’s just so different than anything else we’ve seen. I’m still getting used to it.”
Competition Fierce For Juan Soto
The Mets weren’t the only team willing to go to record-setting lengths to sign Soto.
The New York Yankees’ final offer was 16 years and $760 million but they came up short after acquiring Soto from the San Diego Padres in a trade. Multiple other teams offered at least $700 million.
In the end, Soto chose the Mets, and they are glad he did.
The term “generational talent” tends to get overused in sports. However, it’s an apt description for Soto.
Soto has a .285/.421/.532 slash line through seven seasons and his on-base percentage has been over .400 six times. He also has 201 home runs, including a career-high 41 last season when he led the Yankees to their first World Series appearance since 2009 while hitting .288/.419/.569 in 157 games.
Soto has also won five Silver Slugger awards and one batting title, been to the All-Star Game four times and was one of the Washington Nationals’ key players as a 20-year-old when they won the World Series in 2019.
After finishing seventh in MLB in runs scored last season, the Mets’ lineup should be even stronger with the addition of Soto.
Juan Soto Makes Big Early Impression
It hasn’t taken Soto long to make a big impression in spring training. He hit a 426-foot home room on Saturday in his first Grapefruit League plate appearance then drove in a run with a groundout in his only other at-bat against the Houston Astros in Port St. Lucie, Fla.
Stearns and the rest of the Mets were thrilled to see Soto performing on the field following their high-stakes pursuit off the field in the winter.
“It was intense,” Stearns said of the negotiations. “You want it to happen. We think very highly of Juan Soto, and so we very much wanted to be able to make it happen.
“It’s also my job to ensure that we have other paths to pursue if Plan A doesn’t come to fruition. So, while you’re going through an intense negotiation like that, you’re also setting up other alternatives should you not sign the player. You can’t fixate on only one player.
The Mets didn’t need to go to Plan B, though, like their city rival Yankees. The Yankees rebounded quite nicely by signing left-hander Matt Fried and first baseman Paul Goldschmidt in free agency and trading for Milwaukee Brewers closer Devin Williams and Chicago Cubs center fielder Cody Bellinger.
However, the Mets got the player they wanted in Soto. Steve Cohen, the richest owner in MLB, was willing to stretch the budget as the Mets pursue their first World Series title since 1986 after making a surprising run to the National League Championship Series last year where they lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
“When you we got the call that Juan had chosen to come to the Mets, it’s just very exciting,” Stearns said. “That’s a moment where the entire organization has worked very hard to make something happen and it’s rewarding to be able to sign a player of that standard who we think makes us materially better. It is why you pursue those players and it’s hard to find a player better than Juan Soto. That excitement hasn’t worn off.”
Will the Juan Soto contract pay off? The Mets have made the biggest bet in baseball history that it will.
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
