NL East

Star outfielder Juan Soto's historic contract with the New York Mets shined a light on the discrepancy between big-city franchises and smaller-market teams.

For example, Jacob Calvin Meyer of the Baltimore Sun determined that Soto's 15-year, $765 million contract with the Mets exceeds the Baltimore Orioles' payroll for the past eight years:

Going even further, radio host Josh Rowntree found that Soto's deal is larger than the entire Pittsburgh Pirates payroll for the last decade:

ESPN's Jeff Passan noted that Soto's contract can reach above $800 million with escalators and contains no deferments. His deal is the largest in professional sports history.

Soto earned the record-breaking contract following his special season with the New York Yankees in which he hit a career-high 41 home runs while batting .288 and adding 109 RBI. He helped lead the team to its first World Series appearance since 2009, hitting .327 with four homers and nine RBI in the playoffs.

It will be rare for another player of Soto's caliber to hit the open market in the future, but it can be expected that smaller-market teams will continue to be at a disadvantage while other teams shell out massive amounts of cash to land the free agent of their desires.

The winner of the 2025 World Series could easily be impacted by Juan Soto's free agency decision.

Soto agreed to join the Mets on a 15-year, $765 million contract that can reach the $800 million mark with escalators, per ESPN's Jeff Passan. The 2024 World Series participants, the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers, were both among the teams interested in signing him.

The Dodgers still have the highest odds to repeat as champions at +380, via DraftKings Sportsbook.

The Atlanta Braves own the second-best odds at +750, while the Mets sit at No. 3 with +800 odds. The Yankees have +900 odds to win the 2025 Fall Classic and the Philadelphia Phillies round out the top five at +1000.

It shouldn't come as a major surprise that the Dodgers are favored to win their second straight World Series title. They went 98-64 in the regular season and took down the Mets in six games during a National League Championship Series clash.

Then, Los Angeles dispatched Soto and the Yankees in five games to clinch a championship.

The Dodgers boast an imposing lineup headlined by former MVPs Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman as well as two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani, who's expected to pitch once again during the 2025 season.

Los Angeles has already made a free agency splash of its own, signing two-time Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell to a five-year, $182 million contract on Nov. 26.

While the Mets were defeated by the Dodgers in the NLCS, the acquisition of Soto should make them a top NL threat to the reigning champions once again. Francisco Lindor is coming off a stellar 2024 campaign, while third baseman Mark Vientos wrapped up a breakout season.

It's also worth noting that the Mets made their postseason run without starter Kodai Senga healthy, as the All-Star recorded just five innings of work in three postseason appearances as he was hampered by calf issues.

The Yankees offered Soto $760 million over 16 years before he chose the Mets, per Jon Heyman of the New York Post. Losing the star outfielder obviously stings, but general manager Brian Cashman can now use the money offered to Soto to help fill several holes on the team's roster.

With Aaron Judge winning his second MVP unanimously and ace Gerrit Cole headlining the Yankees' rotation once again in 2025, it's hard to count them out as a contender despite losing Soto.

New York Mets owner Steve Cohen and his wife, Alex, reportedly played a large role in Juan Soto's decision to sign with the team in free agency.

Soto met with several teams at the Pendry hotel in California, but Cohen insisted that he host his meeting with Soto at his own residence in the state, according to Patrick Mooney, Will Sammon, Brendan Kuty and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.

"During the meeting with Soto, Cohen and his wife Alex outlined their vision for the Mets, and how the best free agent on the market would fit into that picture," Mooney, Sammon, Kuty and Rosenthal wrote on Monday. "According to a league source, Cohen referenced the relationships he built over the course of his long Wall Street career, and shared his insights about what it takes to be successful in any field."

The four-time All-Star ultimately joined the Mets on a 15-year, $765 million contract that can be worth up to $800 million with escalators, per ESPN's Jeff Passan.

The New York Yankees attempted to bring back Soto after he spent the 2024 season with the organization, but a return didn't come to fruition. Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported that the Yankees offered the outfielder a 16-year deal worth $760 million.

The crosstown free-agent clashes from the past appeared to play a role in Cohen's aggressive approach to landing Soto.

"Cohen was not going to defer to the Yankees, the way he did in 2022 when Aaron Judge flirted with other teams before signing his nine-year, $360 million contract to remain in the Bronx," Mooney, Sammon, Kuty and Rosenthal wrote. "But Cohen's eagerness to spend – and the possibility of poaching a superstar from a crosstown rival – was just one aspect to this perfect storm."

After making a surprising appearance in the National League Championship Series in 2024, the Mets will now be adding one of the league's most imposing hitters to their lineup. Soto wrapped up an incredible season with the Yankees, racking up 41 home runs and 109 RBIs while posting a .989 OPS.

He remained stellar during the Bronx Bombers' American League pennant run, hitting four homers in 14 postseason games to go along with a .327/.469/.633 slash line.

In the end, efforts from the Cohen family to sway Soto throughout his free agency succeeded.

Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell, New York Knicks guard Josh Hart and MLB fans across the nation reacted to superstar outfielder Juan Soto agreeing to a deal with the New York Mets in free agency. per ESPN's Jeff Passan.

Soto will sign a 15-year, $765 million contract to join the Mets, marking the largest contract in professional sports history. The deal is free of deferments and contains escalators that could push the total value above $800 million, according to Passan.

Mets and MLB fans alike rushed to social media to share their reactions to the record-breaking contract:

In his only season with the Yankees last year, Soto was voted to the AL All-Star team as a starter, posting a .288/.419/.569 slash line with a career-high 41 homers.

The 26-year-old eclipsed Shohei Ohtani's groundbreaking 10-year, $700 million deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers, signed at the start of last season. His $750 million contract is also more than double that of former Yankee teammate Aaron Judge's record-setting $360 million deal from two years ago, per New York Post's Jon Heyman.

After a weeks-long battle between several teams, the race came down to the Yankees, Mets, Boston Red Sox, and Toronto Blue Jays. Soto kept MLB fans on the edge of their seats, letting each team outbid the others as fans kept their fingers crossed.

On Saturday night, Heyman reported that both the Yankees and Mets increased their offers, creating some distance between themselves and the other teams as clear frontrunners. Following several successful meetings between Soto, Mets owner Steve Cohen and team president David Stearns, the Mets emerged as strong contenders, per Heyman.

Now, the deal is finalized after much fan anxiety and a monumental, groundbreaking contract.

After an intense bidding war for star outfielder Juan Soto, the New York Mets triumphed over several other contending teams.

The New York Mets and Soto agreed to a 15-year, $765 contract. The outstanding deal is the largest in professional sports history, according to ESPN's Jeff Passan

The Mets currently have a projected payroll of $182.2 million for the 2025 season, according to Spotrac. With the addition of Soto, that figure is expected to rise by an average of $51 million.

Potential Batting Order

1. SS Francisco Lindor
2. RF Juan Soto
3. 1B Mark Vientos
4. LF Brandon Nimmo
5. DH Starling Marte
6. C Francisco Alvarez 
7. 2B Jeff McNeil
8. CF Jose Siri
9. 3B Brett Baty

MLB Network's Jon Morosi reported that Soto's contract includes an opt-out after year five.

After spending just one year in The Bronx, he is moving across town to Queens. With the Yankees last season, Soto was voted to the AL All-Star team as a starter and hit .288/.419/.569 with a career-high 41 homers.

The 26-year-old joins Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout as the only other current players with contracts surpassing $400 million, with Soto's deal greatly exceeding both of theirs.

The hype around Soto is nothing new as he previously turned down a 15-year, $440 million extension with the Washington Nationals in 2022 that prompted the organization to trade him to San Diego. That contract would have been the richest in MLB history by total value at the time.

Prior to Soto signing with the Mets, shortstop Lindor boasted the highest salary, signing a ten-year, $341 million contract in 2022.

The New York Yankees reportedly came up just short in their bid to retain star slugger Juan Soto.

Per Jon Heyman of the New York Post, the Yankees offered Soto a 16-year, $760 million deal before he ultimately agreed to a 15-year, $765 million contract with the New York Mets on Sunday, which set the record for the largest deal in professional sports history.

ESPN's Jeff Passan noted that Soto's deal with the Mets includes no deferments and has escalators that can push it above $800 million.

Losing Soto to the crosstown team after one season undoubtedly stings for the Yankees, who reached the World Series for the first time since their last title win in 2009 but fell short in five games against the Los Angeles Dodgers. It was just a year ago that the Yankees sent pitchers Michael King, Drew Thorpe, Jhony Brito, Randy Vásquez and catcher Kyle Higashioka to the San Diego Padres to acquire Soto and outfielder Trent Grisham.

In his lone season in Pinstripes, Soto hit a career-high 41 home runs while batting .288 and adding 109 RBI. He continued his steady production in the postseason with a .327 batting average, four homers and nine RBI. He had one of the most memorable moments of the playoffs with his go-ahead home run against the Kansas City Royals in Game 5 of the ALCS.

After losing Soto, the Yankees will have a major hole to fill in their lineup. Star outfielder and 2024 AL MVP Aaron Judge will be counted on even more to lead the team, though he will surely miss having Soto batting in front of him.

Still, it sounds like the Yankees did everything they could to try to retain Soto, but the Mets simply won out with a more lucrative offer.

If a recent insider report is any indication, the Philadelphia Phillies could look mightily different by the time the 2025 MLB season kicks off.

The Athletic's Matt Gelb reported that the team continues to dangle Alec Bohm and Ranger Suárez in trade talks. Nick Castellanos is also available, but the team recognizes that it would have to pay $40 million of his remaining deal.

Bohm received considerable criticism for his sub-par second-half play that ultimately landed him on the bench for the NLDS series against the New York Mets. In four games and 14 plate appearances in the 2024 playoffs, the third baseman tallied just one hit and a batting average of 0.77.

Still, despite his late-season slump, Bohm was good for three wins above replacement and the second-best on-base percentage, batting average, and slugging percentage of his career, while finishing tied for his most RBI with 97. 2024 also saw Bohm make his first All-Star Game and finish as a semifinalist in the Home Run Derby.

Bohm's issue may be in the dugout. AJ Pierzynski revealed on Foul Territory that the four-year player needs to mature as an adult and that his benching may not have been completely play-related.

Suárez began the season as one of the best pitchers in baseball but struggled down the stretch, finishing the year with a 3.46 ERA, a WHIP of 1.201, and 3.54 strikeouts per walk. Still, he, like Bohm, was an All-Star.

Castellanos played in all 162 games, hit 23 home runs, drove in 86 RBI, and slashed to the tune of .254/.311/.431. It was a down season compared to what he accomplished in 2023, but things turned ugly in the postseason when the notoriously picky Philly fans booed him.

None of the three lived up to expectations in 2024 but that is not cause for trading them away for replacements in hopes that those players can perform up to the level of the players who have been instrumental to the team's playoff runs in recent years.

Bohm is a steady hitter, Suárez is a starter on 30 of 30 MLB teams, and Castellanos brings a swagger, confidence, and attitude that helped define the Phillies during their World Series run in 2022.

Without any certainty that they can find players who will do for the team what those athletes have, trading them away because of a single down season is hardly akin to playing winning baseball in the front office.

Does the team need upgrades at key positions? Absolutely. Philly needs a starter and an outfielder. With several quality starters available and Anthony Santander right there for the taking, the team can easily accomplish both of those needs, while holding onto foundational pieces.

Does it need a complete overhaul, with the replacement of contributing players? No, and it should not execute the trades that result in needing three starting players in three key positions.

Especially with Trea Turner not exactly living up to expectations to this point in hs run with the organization.

Both the New York Yankees and New York Mets have increased their offers to superstar slugger Juan Soto into the $710 million to $730 million range, according to the New York Post's Jon Heyman.

The two franchises remain part of a five-team battle for Soto as they work on offering him a contract in MLB record-setting territory.

Both bids surpass Shohei Ohtani's record-breaking $700 million deal. As of Saturday, the Mets' offer may be slightly higher than the Yankees, per Heyman, though "the respective offers appear to be within shouting distance."

The Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Dodgers are still very much in the running, with the possibility that they could surpass the New York teams in the bidding to land the 26-year-old, per Heyman.

The Red Sox and Blue Jays are also reported to have made highly competitive offers, while the Dodgers, despite not needing another superstar, surprised many by submitting a bid exceeding $600 million. According to Heyman, they are not as likely to land Soto as other destinations.

The Yankees have leverage by offering two-time MVP Aaron Judge as a teammate to Soto. However, the Mets remain strong contenders, especially after a successful meeting between Soto, Mets owner Steve Cohen and team president David Stearns, according to Heyman.

If Soto signs for exactly $720 million, it would be double Judge's previous record-setting $360 million deal, which was signed just two years ago, per Heyman.