How Juan Soto’s contract with the New York Mets is transforming baseball

DALLAS – Fifteen years, $765 million, no money deferred. The figures of Juan Sotothe contract with the New York Metsreached Sunday night in a deal that sets a new standard for the largest contract in professional sports history, one story goes. A baseball-loving phenom from the Dominican Republic arrived in the big leagues at 19, blossomed instantly, bet on himself by turning down a $440 million contract offer two years ago and is now emerging with a record number of dollars and years — and reminding the sports world of the endless possibilities when extreme talent meets the free market.

But that’s not the only story. This is as much about the Mets as it is about Soto – a franchise that, for 63 years of existence, has lived in the shadow of its racial neighbor. No more. Not after the two New York teams competed for a player who spent 2024 in the Bronx but decamped to Queens for a long-term commitment.

Think about that for a second. A Yankee chose to be a Met. And not just any Yankee: the one who helped lead the storied franchise to the World Series this year, the one to whom the team was also willing to pay more than $700 million over 15 seasons. The size of Soto’s contract — bigger than Shohei Ohtaniit is an agreement with the Los Angeles Dodgersbigger than Lionel Messi’s with Barcelona, ​​bigger than Patrick Mahomes’ with the Kansas City Chiefs – it’s mind-boggling. Even more astonishing is the Mets’ brilliance of a team whose weaknesses were its defining characteristic toward the destination of an archetypal free agent.

And for that, every giddy Mets fan, from Astoria to Jamaica, from Whitestone to Far Rockaway, can thank Steve Cohen. When Cohen bought the team in 2020, hope — something Mets fans previously lacked — seeped through. One of the richest men in the world, with an estimated fortune of $20 billion, was buying their team. And he was ready to build a juggernaut.

Failures peppered Cohen’s first four years as owner, but they were no longer the franchise’s defining characteristic. He won gold with the Francisco Lindor commercial exchanges and subsequent extension of the contract. He found the right president of baseball operations in David Stearns and the right manager in Carlos Mendoza. More than anything, Cohen shook up the culture in and around the organization. After decades of performing like a mid-sized team, the Mets have become the primordial version of what they could be: a scary machine, full of talented people and an owner willing to go where others wouldn’t. not.

The signing of Soto signifies the next step in the evolution of the Mets. It’s not a championship team yet — their run to the National League Championship Series this season was a fluke — but it has the bones. And with Stearns’ savvy, Mendoza’s feel and Cohen’s support, the Mets’ foundation is rock-solid, capable of withstanding the tectonic shifts that have befallen lesser franchises.

A lineup with the names of Lindor and Soto in the first two spots and an emerging star Marc Vientos‘ in the third is as good as any outside of Los Angeles, home to the team that ousted the Mets in October and won the World Series. If there’s a role model to follow, it’s the Dodgers, and Cohen isn’t too proud of seeing success and trying to replicate it. New York’s depth doesn’t match LA’s — even after signing Clay Holmes And Frankie Montas join a rotation with Kodai Senga And David Peterson — and that’s unlikely to be the case by Opening Day next year. Which is good. Because the Mets aren’t just trying to win in 2025. They want to win in 2025, 2026, 2027 and 2028 and through 2039 when Soto’s deal expires.

Winning takes time, even for a team whose payroll could be the largest in the major leagues for a third consecutive season. Their farm system is not where it should be, and getting there will become even more difficult with the back-end draft picks that come with success. For all the Mets positives – Edwin Diaz patrol the ninth inning, Brandon Nimmo take professional bats, Francisco Alvarez ready to take the plunge: a team is not just about its 10 best players. More talent is needed.

Soto is a hell of a start. Last October, his ability to respond to the moment validated all the plaudits that have been lavished on him since his debut in 2018. He showed his power when it counted. He spat on pitches just outside the strike zone. He lived up to an idealized version of himself and entered a frothy free agent market to reward him. Everything conspired in Soto’s favor. In a game rightly obsessed with age, he was the rare 26-year-old available for free but for cash. In a game where pitching routinely trumps hitting, he stands alongside Ohtani and Aaron judgeshis former Yankees teammate, as one of the best hitters on the planet. In a game spooked by free agent failures, he made it a certainty that not only the Mets and Yankees, but also the Boston Red Sox And Toronto Blue Jays they pushed themselves far beyond what they imagined to try to have it.

Due to the impossibility of predicting baseball, this whole thing could fall apart spectacularly. For $765 million, the Mets could have signed a handful of excellent free agents. But to a bettor — Cohen made his fortune on Wall Street — it looks like the start of a golden age for Mets baseball. While the Atlanta Braves And Philadelphia Phillies own the National League East and the Dodgers loom in any playoff series, Soto’s contract is a statement: The Mets are building something big. So get on board, lest the 7 train leaves the station without you.

Soto’s agent, Scott Boras, finalized his contract at the winter meetings in Dallas, where baseball’s first true mega-deal was made 24 years ago, almost to the day. Alex Rodriguez, also represented by Boras, was a 25-year-old whose 10-year, $252 million contract with the Texas Rangers doubled the previous record guarantee. Rodriguez opted out of the deal in 2007 and re-signed for $275 million. The next time someone signed for more was Giancarlo StantonThe 13-year, $325 million contract. It was in 2015.

For a decade and a half, Rodriguez’s deals remained the standard. When Ohtani’s 10-year, $700 million contract – which, taking into account deferrals, has a current value of less than $500 million – broke the total guarantee record last winter, he seemed a sure bet to keep this brand for a long time. while. The record lasted less than a year.

That’s because Juan Soto is Juan Soto, and because Steve Cohen is Steve Cohen, and because the game is the game, subject to change at any moment. And change happened Sunday, with dollars and years, choices and consequences – a new story ready to be written.