MLB contract records were broken Sunday night as the Mets agreed to a shocking 15-year, $765MM deal with the free-agent superstar Juan SotoAccording to Jon Heyman of the New York Post. According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, the deal includes no deferred funds and includes escalators that could push the contract above $800. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported that the deal includes a signing bonus of up to $75, while Joel Sherman of the New York Post reported that Sol Tow’s deal includes an opt-out clause after his age-30 season in 2029. ESPN’s Jorge Castillo pointed out that the Mets will have the opportunity to eliminate this option by adding an additional $4MM per year in the final 10 years of the contract, which would bring the contract to a maximum of $805MM over 15 years.
Brokered by Boras Corporation, Soto’s deal is the largest contract in professional sports history, bringing the deal’s net present value to $461MM Shohei Ohtani Ohtani signed with the Dodgers last winter, but even before factoring in the deal’s record-breaking extension, Ohtani signed for $700. Soto’s average annual worth of $5.1 billion also significantly surpasses the MLB player record previously held by Ohtani.
Soto is the game’s first true $500MM player, $600MM player, $700MM player, and $50MM player, all on epic contracts. The deal is reminiscent of the ten-year, $25MM contract Boras signed with the Rangers Alex Rodriguez That number was announced 24 years ago at the Winter Meetings at the same Anatole Hotel in Dallas.
The Mets weren’t the only team willing to do whatever it took to sign Soto, with Heyman reporting that the Yankees’ final offer for Soto was $760 in ’16. Meanwhile, MassLive’s Sean McAdam reports that the Red Sox have extended a 15-year, $700 offer to Soto. Each of these deals would shatter all expectations heading into the offseason; MLBTR predicts Soto will receive a 13-year, $600 contract as part of our annual list of the 50 MLB Free Agents.
The 26-year-old phenom’s free agency career has been one of the most anticipated in MLB history. The superstar seemed destined for a record-breaking deal after turning down a $440 extension offer from the Nationals during the 2022 season. Considering Soto went on to make $54MM in his final two arbitration years, and the Nationals’ offer ended up being the equivalent of $386MM over 13 free-agent years, Soto nearly doubled his numbers tonight.
Soto made a prescient decision on the Nationals’ offer, prompting his trade to the Padres. He was already a career 152 wRC+ hitter entering the 2021 season, and he’s been even better since, with a .279/.423/.520 slash line, which is good for a 161 wRC+.
The huge trade gave the Mets one of the most talented hitters in the game. Soto had a long-standing platform season in 2024 after being traded from the Padres to the Yankees, hitting .288/.419/.569 (180 wRC+) while hitting 41 home runs in 157 games. His walk rate (18.1%) outnumbered his at-bats (16.7%). In an era of rising strikeout rates, Soto’s otherworldly home plate discipline sets him apart from the crowd. He has produced more unintentional walks than strikeouts in each of the past five seasons, and he has led the league in unintentional walks three times in his career.
Soto’s 769 career unintentional walks put him 11th on the active list after just seven seasons in the majors. Among the ten players in front of him, only Christian Yelich (770 walks in 12 seasons) and Bryce Harper (1,035 plate appearances in 13 seasons) is at least not twice the number of years Soto has been in the league. That awesome wink allows Soto to age better than players who realize value through elite speed and defense, which certainly helps make the Mets (and other interested clubs) more willing to set the record straight to acquire Soto. Trusted services. Soto was so good at drawing walks that he was notorious for the way he pitched the ball, which would sometimes trigger a Soto shuffle.
Notably, Soto made his MLB debut in 2018 at age 19, allowing him to become a free agent at the rare age of 26. Getting paid before age 40 means, in Soto’s case, the longest contract in MLB history at 15 years. Soto’s youth, coupled with his Hall of Fame repertoire, made this deal possible.
By the time he turned 25, Soto had accumulated 36.4 Baseball Reference WAR, ranking 17th all-time. Mike Trout is the only other active player on this list. Of the other 15, 12 are in the Hall of Fame and another is a lock to the Hall of Fame albert pujolsAlex Rodriguez would also be in the mix if not for steroid use. The only reason Soto isn’t ranked high is because of his below-average outfield defense, although that’s completely ignored by his free-agent suitors given the $700-plus offer.
One thing Soto has that his fellow Hall of Famer doesn’t have (aside from free agency rights, of course) is Statcast. Modern general managers place a high value on Statcast’s measure of how hard a player hits the ball, and Soto’s numbers typically rank in the 99th percentile. This is key evidence that Soto’s elite offense can last for years to come.
Soto will enter the prime years of his already illustrious career in a Mets uniform. He will patrol right field and pair with the star shortstop Francisco Lindor Creates a terrifying 1-2 punch that should provide the Mets with a legitimate replica of Soto and his incredible partnership Aaron Judge That helped the Yankees go from 82-80 in the 2023 season to 94 wins and the AL pennant last season. As far as the Mets are concerned, even before adding Soto, they were already closer to becoming a top team: They won 89 games in the 2024 season and fought their way to the NLCS, ultimately finishing in six games Lost to the eventual world champion Dodgers. In addition to Lindor, Soto will also be protected by fellow corner outfielders in the lineup Brandon Nimmo and a group of interesting young people, e.g. Mark Ventos and Francisco Alvarez.
With the addition of Soto, there’s little evidence the Mets will slow down on this basis as there are still several key needs that need to be addressed. It still seems likely that the club will add an infield corner, either with Pete Alonso Or maybe adding a third baseman could get Vientos off the hot corner. Additionally, it is known that the Mets are in the market for at least one starting pitcher after previously adding at least one. Clay Holmes and Frankie Montas Rotate with current starters Gao Da Xian Jia and David Peterson. It wouldn’t be surprising to see the club target relief help replenish the bullpen, which saw a number of key pieces including Phil Marton, Drew Smithand Brooks Reilly Left as a free agent.
The Mets will have ample resources to make these additions. Even after signing Soto in record-breaking terms, the club is still projected to have a payroll of $24.1 billion in 2025, according to RosterResource. While that would be close to the spending cap for most clubs, this number gives the Mets roughly $95MM in flexibility to move up on their posted payroll of $336MM in 2024. For good measure, the club’s projected luxury tax payroll is $251 million, which is more than $100 higher than last year’s $358 million. That should give the Mets plenty of room to explore a more impactful roster.
Now that the offseason’s loaded free agents are finally out of the way, expect a flurry of activity around the league this week at the Winter Meetings in Dallas, as free agents and trade candidates slowed by Soto’s emergence may Start moving. free agent corner outfielder Teoscar Hernandez and Anthony Santander As the Yankees, Red Sox, Dodgers and Blue Jays prepare to explore various contingency plans if they fail to sign Soto, their markets are expected to rebound significantly.
Other high-priced free agents include: Max Fried, corbyn burnsand Alex Bregman Likewise, popular winter products will no longer appear in the market, movement will increase, and there may even be certain high-priced items on the trade market, such as Cody Bellinger and Nolan Arenado We may start to see more action in the coming days.
The Yankees, in particular, were aggressive in their bid to retain Soto and have long been expected to aggressively seek out impact talent if the Yankees fell out of the Metro Series bid. The lineup that replaced Soto. Hernandez, Bellinger, Burns and Fried are all names that have emerged linked to the Bronx in recent weeks, and they seem more likely targets now that Soto has left for Queens.
