Juan Soto has a new baseball home in New York.
The 26-year-old former Yankees superstar officially signed a 15-year, $765 million deal with the New York Mets last week, the richest contract in sports history, after rejecting the Yankees offer of 16 years and $760 million. Mets owner Steve Cohen is now ironically invoking comparisons to the late Yankees owner George Steinbrenner for his determination to spare no cost for players he views as pieces to a potential World Series team.
“This is a seminal moment in franchise history,” said Cohen upon locking up Soto well into the next decade. At his introductory press conference last Thursday as a Met, Soto said he still has much love for Yankees fans.
“They have a spot in my heart at the end of the day,” he said. “Tough that [the Yankees and I] couldn’t get it together and try to be back and stuff like that, but definitely I’m always going to appreciate what they did for me in 2024.”
Soto switching teams will undoubtedly have an impact on both franchises and the overall balance of power in Major League Baseball.
Yankees Loss: While Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge was the American League Most Valuable Player, Soto finished third in the voting. His presence allowed Judge to move to third in the batting order. Soto’s ability to take pitches (he walked 129 times last year) and still be an effective hitter enabled Judge to reach career highs in batting average at .322, walks with 133 and runs batted in registering 144.
There’s also the question of whether Judge should be moved back to the second spot in the batting order, where he was slotted prior to Soto becoming a Yankee in December 2023 in a trade with the San Diego Padres. That will be determined during spring training next year but what we know for sure is that Soto’s impact on Judge was substantial.
Mets Gain: Meanwhile, the Mets will insert Judge into a lineup that was already formidable, assuming they re-sign free agent first baseman Pete Alonso or replace him with another 30-plus home run hitter. With Soto projected to bat second, he’ll provide help for shortstop Francisco Lindor, the NL MVP runner up. Soto’s willingness to take pitches will allow Lindor more opportunities to steal bases. He stole 29 last year, a number that should increase.
Also, Lindor being a threat to steal will force the opposition’s first baseman to stay close to base, giving Soto the chance to potentially get hits through the opening on the right side of the infield. Soto’s noted work ethic should also help some of the Mets younger players such as Mark Vientos and Francisco Alvarez in their game preparation.
The loss of Soto forced the Yankees to change their strategy this offseason. They acquired free agent starting pitcher Max Fried formerly of the Atlanta Braves and executed a trade with the Milwaukee Brewers, parting with starter Nestor Cortes and adding Devin Williams, one of the best closers in baseball. On Tuesday, the Yankees strengthened their lineup in a swap with the Chicago Cubs, securing 2019 National League MVP Cody Bellinger, an outfielder and first baseman, and giving up pitcher Cody Poteet.
While there is still more maneuvering to be done by both teams, the Mets have perhaps surpassed the Yankees as the team with the best chance to bring a World Series championship to New York for the first time since the Yankees 2009 title.