As some players came off the market in recent weeks, including two-time Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell signing with the Los Angeles Dodgers, MLB free agency remained dominated by the Juan Soto sweepstakes.
The Dodgers, Boston Red Sox, New York Mets, New York Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays emerged as the finalists after an initial round of contract offers. Each of the five teams additionally met with Soto and agent Scott Boras.
That was followed by more offers being put on the table, fueling an expectation Soto’s contract was going to reach — and potentially exceed — $700 million in total value.
According to Jon Heyman of the New York Post, Soto is signing with the Mets on a record-breaking 15-year, $765 million contract:
Breaking: Juan Soto to the Mets. $765M. 15 years.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) December 9, 2024
The 26-year-old becomes the cornerstone of the Mets franchise as one of Major League Baseball’s most feared offensive players. Soto’s new deal places him in a category among the richest deals in all of professional sports, and he is among the youngest to receive such a significant contract.
In his career, Soto has batted .285/.421/.532/.953 with 201 home runs, 592 RBI and 655 runs scored. Dating back to 2018, he’s spent time with the Washington Nationals, San Diego Padres and Yankees.
Soto’s experience is deep, with 43 career playoff games played. He’s produced a .927 postseason on-base plus slugging percentage to go along 11 home runs, 30 RBI and 31 runs scored in October baseball.
He was instrumental in the Nationals’ World Series run in 2019, and again in 2024 when the Yankees fell short against the Dodgers in the Fall Classic. This past season, Soto posted a 1.101 OPS with four home runs and nine RBI throughout the playoffs.
Dodgers contract offer for Juan Soto
Although the Dodgers remained involved in the Soto sweepstakes, their contract offer reportedly was in the neighborhood of $600 million and they weren’t believed to be as serious in the pursuit as the other aforementioned teams.
The more likely scenario for the Dodgers is re-signing Teoscar Hernández, which could happen soon now that the Soto sweepstakes are over.
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