JUST IN: Mets’ Part Ways With Versatile Veteran
As of the final week of August, there was no indication that New York Yankees All-Star outfielder Juan Soto would sign an extension with the team before entering free agency at the end of the current season.
In a column published by ESPN on Tuesday, New York Mets shortstop effectively agreed that Soto’s camp should expect to hear from big-spending team owner Steve Cohen sometime this fall.
“When it comes to the outfielder from across our borough,” He said of Soto during a conversation with ESPN MLB expert Jeff Passan. “He’s having a terrific year, and I hope he goes out there and breaks every record out there when it comes to getting paid. If it is with us, it will be amazing. He will be a great help to us.”
Yankees skipper Aaron Judge is said to be unconcerned with the team offering Soto a contract worth more per year than the nine-year, $360 million deal Judge signed to continue with the organisation in December 2022, but that doesn’t mean the 25-year-old is guaranteed to stay with the Bronx Bombers.
Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner has warned that the team’s payroll is “not sustainable” because to luxury-tax fines, and this was before Soto hit 37 home runs in 129 games.
“At the end of the day, high-ranking front office and ownership-level sources believe the winter for Soto is going to play out like this: Yankees vs. Mets,” Passan told me. “…the statistics shows that once a player reaches 30, his career is likely to deteriorate. So getting a superstar for four complete seasons before turning 30 — and doing so without having to give up assets in a trade — makes him the ideal Mets target.”
After a disappointing 2023 season, the Mets had what seemed like an underwhelming offseason on paper. They started the current season slowly, with a 22-33 record, but managed to turn things around during the summer. As of Wednesday morning, they held a 69-63 record and were three games behind in the race for the National League’s final wild-card spot.
If Juan Soto is serious about setting a new standard for sluggers, his next contract could land him somewhere between $500 million and $600 million over 10-12 years. According to Chris Kirschner of The Athletic, Yankees manager Aaron Boone recently said that he believes Soto “has enjoyed being here, likes being a part of this group, and is a significant voice in our clubhouse.”
However, it’s still unclear whether Soto’s positive experience with the Yankees will lead him to offer the team any sort of discount before Christmas.