A new era in New York baseball begins in 2025: Juan Soto, after one stellar campaign with the New York Yankees, has agreed to a record-setting, earth-shattering, mind-boggling 15-year, $765 million deal with the New York Mets. The Yankees have long dominated the headlines in the Big Apple with more success on the field, more star power in the lineup, more big names signed in free agency. Even in 2024, as the Mets made a run to the NLCS, the Yankees did even better, reaching the World Series.
Much of the discussion will revolve around the size of the contract -- which could escalate to $805 million due to an opt-out clause. But's let's acknowledge that Steve Cohen, the richest owner in MLB, is playing a different game than most of the other teams, and we'll focus on the baseball aspect. Soto, coming off a season with the Yankees in which he hit .288/.419/.568 with 41 home runs, 128 runs scored and a third-place finish in the MVP voting, will take his lethal bat to Queens, where he has a chance to become the best hitter in Mets history. If Soto hits like he did in 2024, that's not hyperbole. His 178 OPS+ tops the Mets record of 169 set by Howard Johnson in 1989. His 147 runs created would top David Wright's 146 from 2006. His 129 walks are more than any Mets player has ever drawn. Even his 41 home runs would rank tied for third, behind two seasons from Pete Alonso.
It's a franchise-altering move -- at just 26 years old, Soto was not only the best free agent this offseason but one of the most sought-after in history. He brings in-his-prime offense and swagger to an organization still trying to find its way as a consistent winner and World Series contender. While the Yankees haven't had a losing season since 1992, the Mets have had 18 in that span. The Yankees have 25 playoff appearances since 1995; the Mets have just seven. The Mets have had a better record than the Yankees just four times since 1993.