The New York Mets are prepared to spend this off-season. After piecing together a roster along the margins last offseason, they ended up in the NLCS. Now, Steve Cohen wants to bring a champion to Queens. With the World Series over, free agency has begun and so have the Juan Soto rumors. According to Mike Puma of the New York Post, the Mets were among the first teams to reach out to the Yankees' outfielder.
“Roughly a dozen teams have checked in on Soto (it’s believed the Mets are among them) in the aftermath of the Yankees’ loss to the Dodgers in Game 5 of the World Series on Wednesday,” Puma reported. “The Mets’ interest is no surprise: The 26-year-old outfielder is the premier player on the market, and the team has a need for another bat and the payroll flexibility.”
The Mets have $90 million in dead cap coming off the books in Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, and James McCann. With the impacts of their 2023 teardown ending, they are in a prime position to spend. It meets up perfectly with Soto's free agency, which could be a historic chase.
Last year, Shohei Ohtani signed a $700 million contract. Soto likely won't get that much, as he does not pitch as well as hit, but it will be close. Can the Mets get that deal done? And if they can't, who can?
Can the Mets land Juan Soto?
The Yankees traded for Soto from the Padres last winter to sign him long-term. They wanted to get him in for his age-25 season, which went very well, and sign him long-term afterward. Soto was never going to sign an extension before hitting the open market with Scott Boras as his agent. Even Aaron Judge flirted with the Padres and Giants before coming back to The Bronx.
Soto will most likely remain in New York City. Whether it's with the Mets or the Yankees, he will be very rich and very hated by the other fanbase. If he does not, the Phillies are an interesting candidate. They have a ton of money tied up in their current roster but have not been able to get over the hump. They could use a centerfielder, which Soto is not, but they can fill that hole as a price to have Soto in the corner.
The Giants made a serious run at Judge and just signed Matt Chapman to a fair six-year deal. Could Soto have been one of the players contacting Chapman after that contract? The Cubs are looking to make a splash with their expensive new manager. You can't rule out the Dodgers, the Astros may replace Alex Bregman with Soto, and the Nationals are rumored to want him back. The free agency frenzy has only just begun and Soto's name will be talked about a ton.
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