When Juan Soto got to New York City, the New York Mets fans did not expect him to be with their team. Pitcher Michael King and prospect Drew Thorpe were included in the trade that sent Soto from the San Diego Padres to the New York Yankees.
Juan Soto is expected to play out the remaining season of his contract and test free agency, as is customary for clients of his agent, Scott Boras, regardless of the transfer. Soto expressed his excitement about joining the Yankees by saying he would “try to enjoy the moment while I’m there,” which further creates the possibility that he will become a free agent in the future, in which case the Mets will be interested in signing him.
The obvious advantage for the Mets is Steve Cohen.
Steve Cohen’s aggressive approach to reaching his goals persists, despite his being more reserved and patient this offseason—possibly a sign of his new management style and resolve to trust David Stearns’ process. We saw how his curiosity drove him to fly to Japan with Stearns to meet with Yoshinobu Yamamoto, demonstrating the lengths he will go to in order to fulfill his desires.
The team’s goal to stay competitive in 2024 in order to carry on with its future planning might be a sign of how they’re getting ready for the 2025 FA, which has more relevant chips than this offseason. In the 2025 market, Soto will be given the most attention.
For almost any team, but especially the Mets, Soto is a perfect fit. His left-handed swing and ability to play left field make him a valuable asset to the team as there isn’t a player in MLB or its farm system who can fill that role on a regular basis.
It is a given that Steve Cohen will want to hire one of the league’s best hitters, like Soto. For her, Cohen will spend the remainder of his career luring Scott Boras and Soto to Queens through his financial clout and influence.
The Mets may be impacted by the Evil Empire’s return.
It had been decades since the New York Yankees had shown the kind of direction they had this offseason. Chairman of the Yankees’ ownership group Hal Steinbrenner has made the decision to go all in to win a championship in a fashion evocative of his father’s empire.
Comparatively speaking, the Yankees are superior to the Mets. They have the advantage of negotiating with Soto because they made the transfer for Soto.
Showing him the Yankees’ organizational culture, the limelight of playing in the city, and the concessions they made to prospects in order to secure his services might persuade Soto to sign a long-term contract with the team. Similarly, Steinbrenner’s willingness to see the Evil Empire Strike Back may indicate his interest in having resources for this, even though Steve Cohen may have a lot of resources at his disposal.
The competition between the Yankees and the Mets to sign Soto in the upcoming offseason has the potential to be an intense and unexpected development for baseball. The darker side of New York City has returned, and Steve Cohen will need to get his Jedi group ready to battle it.
His interest in the Mets may be indicated by his 2021 Instagram post at Citi Field.
In the 2021 season, Soto shared a picture of himself at Citi Field facing center field on his personal Instagram account, writing, “Let God move the chips for you.” Without mentioning any specific team, Soto utilized the hashtags to refer to the Big Apple and the city of New York in the message.
Although the post might suggest something about his taste in New York City, there was a lot of conjecture surrounding it because it was located in the Mets stadium. Since this post was removed so long ago, Soto’s interests might have evolved.
A few things are still relevant. Soto has a preference for the city where he can play for the Yankees this season and be in the spotlight in New York, which will surely add to his value. On the other hand, there are some things that might bring Soto and the Mets together, and we can refer to that picture.
First, there’s no denying the importance of the Latino community—led by Dominicans—among Mets supporters and in New York City. Second, prior to the Washington Nationals interfering with the agreed-upon signing process, his brother was on the verge of being signed by the Mets. More significantly, though, Soto would become the team’s face right away in New York—something that Aaron Judge-led Yankees would not be able to accomplish.
The terms of Shohei Ohtani’s contract will ripple through the race for Soto
The Los Angeles Dodgers appeared to have arrived at the point they could and wanted as soon as they signed Shohei Ohtani for a record $700 million over ten years. Even though Ohtani’s contract is well-deserved, it would be extremely difficult for any team, including the Dodgers, to sign other elite forward players.
But the news that Ohtani’s contract has an absurd $680 million in deferred money gives the Dodgers a great deal of flexibility to keep adding relevant players for this season and next. In addition, the Dodgers’ outfield, which includes Jason Heyward, Chris Taylor, and Mookie Betts at second base, suggests that Soto would be a good fit for a team with sufficient financial resources even though they have outfield prospects in their farm system.
The Dodgers, in contrast to the Mets or Yankees, have spent years preparing their finances for such occasions, and Ohtani has only made things easier. You need money to convince Scott Boras, and you need a good team and a good city to convince Soto, and the Dodgers have all three in spades.
In order to defeat the Dodgers, whose championship roster is a sight to behold for any player, Steve Cohen will need to get his wallet ready. The Dodgers will have an easier time competing for Soto’s services the following offseason thanks to Ohtani.