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Quick thoughts after Juan Soto agrees to sign with the Mets
🕑 Added 2024-12-09 04:58:42 +0000 UTC
It was fun for a year.
In the end, Steve Cohen’s largesse was too much to pass up. Juan Soto has agreed to a massive 15-year contract worth $765M with the Mets, according to all the trustworthy reporters. That’s $51M per year. There’s a $75M signing bonus, an opt out after the fifth year (that can be voided by adding $4M per year to the rest of the contract), and no deferrals. Soto will almost certainly to go down as the greatest player in Mets history.
Jon Heyman says the Yankees offered 16 years and $760M, or $47.5M per year. They offered fewer total dollars and less per year. But also, they were right there, and chances are Cohen would have upped his offer had the Yankees upped theirs. Based on that, I can’t get mad at Hal Steinbrenner – do not mistake that for me being okay with losing Soto – cause I didn’t think he’d go near anything that started with a 7.
At the same time, losing Soto is a stunning organizational failure. You offered similar dollars and the guy went to the fucking Mets. Shohei Ohtani wanted nothing to do with you. Yoshinobu Yamamoto rejected your $300M. Why do so many great players not want to play for the Yankees? It’s because they’re not really the Yankees anymore. They’re just another big market team. The current generation of players didn’t watch 2009, nevermind the late 1990s dynasty. Long ago history only goes so far, Yankees.
The only good thing about Soto leaving – literally the only good thing – is the Yankees can now slide Aaron Judge back to right field, where he belongs defensively. What they do now after losing Soto, I don’t know, and I’m worried it’ll be akin to replacing Robbie Canó with Carlos Beltrán, Jacoby Ellsbury, and Brian McCann. The Yankees did that and then won fewer games in 2014 than they did in 2013. It was capital-B Bad.
The Yankees must now try to replace an irreplaceable player. Their lineup was very top heavy with Soto and the only possible avenue now is acquiring several players who aren’t as good as Soto and are several years older than Soto, and will almost certainly cost more combined than Soto in 2025 and beyond. We just have to hope it works out. The list of needs, in rough order of importance:
1. A big first base bat (Christian Walker?)
2. A big outfield bat (Teoscar Hernández?)
3. A starter (Max Fried?)
4. A second/third baseman (they’re not serious about Caleb Durbin, right?)
5. Bullpen help (lots of it)
Other than Soto and a few low cost relievers, the Yankees have taken L after L on trades and free agent signings dating back to the 2021 trade deadline. Maybe Jazz Chisholm Jr. proves to be an exception, but he hasn’t been a Yankee long enough to say. Am I confident the Yankees can swing the 3-4 moves that will be needed to adequately replace Soto? I can’t say I am. The front office has to earn my trust back. They have for a while now.
I’m sure the Yankees will win a bunch of games next year and maybe even win the AL East and make a run in the postseason. They won’t be nearly as fun though – Soto is an entertainer as much as he is a baseball player – and the Gerrit Cole/Aaron Judge era is now much more likely to end without a World Series. There is an it factor with Soto that no other Yankee has. Not even Judge. It is the reason he got $765M.
Bryce Harper, Manny Machado, Corey Seager, Juan Soto. All prime-aged star free agents the Yankees did not sign for one reason or other (I guess I should be happy they at least made Soto an offer, unlike Harper) and the first three were obvious mistakes the day it happened. The Yankees have regretted passing on those guys ever since. They’ll regret losing Soto too, but what’s done is done. Now they have to figure out a way to pick up the pieces and remain competitive without one the best hitters we’ll ever see.
Comments
Will H.
Cashman traded for one Juan Soto last off season 🙃
Steven O
Thanks for the quick pivot to plan B Mike. Hal was never going to outbid Steve Cohen for Soto, and Soto/Boras was always going to the high bidder. Plan B looks decent, depending on if the Yankees have the players to trade for Wade and Bellinger. The idea of keeping the lineup balanced is important. Signing Walker and Hernandez would not work. I have mixed feelings about sIgning Gleyber on a short-term deal, when he gets thrown out on the bases and makes an error on an easy play we will regret it.
JimBearNJ
With the opt out escalators looked like deal was worth $800 million plus. Pretty clear whatever Yankees bid that Cohen would offer more. Hopefully they can makes some moves in Free agency that would help
Gus G
Not just the alpha of the sport, not even the alpha of NYC lol
Ryan Price
Soul crushing, makes the World Series loss hurt even worse feeling like the end of a window rather than the opening of one. An emphatic declaration through play and business the Yankees are no longer the alpha of the sport They’ll always be in our blood though… onward
B-Mo
On top of all this the Mets are also paying Bobby Bonilla through 2035.
B-Mo
The “present value” of the Mets contract is roughly $40M greater by my quick calculations. (For those unfamiliar with present value … if Cohen needed to fund this contract by putting it all in a 5% interest bearing account right now it would require about $555M deposit. Hal would have to deposit $515M.) that excludes all the extra money the Mets could pay on performance.
B-Mo
The power of cash on hand. Substantially more “net present value” in the Mets contract to be sure. But I also think he’s smart enough to look at Hal and Cashman’s history and public commitments to keep salary below $300m, all the holes the Yankees have and conclude the Mets are a better fit for him. But the $75m in the pocket today is admittedly a more likely explanation..
Bill Toncic Jr
I think in the end,since the offers were fairly close, Soto chose being the Alpha of the Mets,the Face of their franchise. He couldn't have that with the Yankees & we all know that Soto's ego is bigger than the Bronx & Queens combined! Now Cash, regroup,restock & recharge!
Gene Garfield
Bring back Verdugo? 🥺
Tim HJ
The '$5m' thing isn't quite accurate - I recommend reading Matt Snyder's piece on it here: https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/yankees-reportedly-lose-juan-soto-to-mets-over-5-million-but-its-more-complicated-than-that/
Michael Mazzullo
I have been a Yankee fan since 1962, so I speak with a long history of fandom. I am incredibly ambivalent about this. It is so much money that I can not really care anymore. It's all become like a cattle auction. You don't get attached to the cattle and they just want more feed. I will watch them nonetheless, but the Yanks are no longer part of my soul, if that makes sense. Ok, bring in the next steer.
ramez hanna
I am ok with losing soto,everyone says he is a great player under 30 ,in 4 years he will be over 30 and he is not a great defender ,in 4 years he will end as a designated hitter or first baseman, horrible contract for the Mets, length,money and defense value,
Jon
is this "cope"? Absolutely. But why do I know that, if NYY had resigned Soto, they'd be using his contract as an excuse for passing on all kinds of players at positions of need for the foreseeable future.
Zack
This org needs to get out of 1955. Enough of the idiotic hair, beard etc rules. Stop with the stuffiness. Encourage personality. Players don’t wanna play for Parris Island.
B-Mo
Honestly this guy is smart and deliberate. The Mets only offered $5m more which is less than 1% difference. He chose the Mets not the money. Repeat - he thinks the Mets are a better org for the next 15 years. I hope he’s wrong. But THAT is the indictment of Hal and Cashman. Zero faith they can run a team better than the clown show in Queens.
Alex G
What gives you any level of confidence a horrible GM like Cashman isn't going to whiff on every single Plan B move? If Hal were smart, he'd fire Cashman NOW before he has the ability to run this organization even more into the ground.
brg
To fill the position player void, the Bellinger interest has been pretty transparent and I'm more intrigued than I'd have guessed (Wrigley played strangely last year, and Bellinger's spray chart was built for the short porch). Ha-Seong Kim is also interesting now that the Giants chose Adames; no QO attached, Durbin can have some run at the start of the year, and you still have a solid replacement plan built in when Kim returns from injury. But constructing a lineup without Soto/Judge back-to-back is vomit-inducing after 2024. An amazing luxury that is impossible to overrate.
Bruce
The fact is we couldn’t win the World Series WITH Soto in his prime in the lineup so I’m all in on Plan B. Cashman needs to roll up his sleeves and get creative with FA signings and trades. LFG. I totally understand he hasn’t done much in recent history to be optimistic that he’ll make the right moves but this offseason is far from being over. Pencils aren’t down yet.
Mike
Soto chose Cohen over Hal. Simple as that. He knows if he signed with the Yankees Hal was not going to spend much more. Hal talks about budgets while Cohen talks about winning.
MikeD
I do agree with your take, but I think Mike was venting because this all sucks.
Alex G
sign Fried AND Burnes and make a play for Vlad Jr. Avoid all of the landmines like the Bregmans/Alonsos/Teoscars/Santanders.
Alex G
I think they knew they were getting outbid no matter what if they didn't go absolutely crazy (i.e. $800M+). Regardless, he didn't want to come back, even at a slightly reduced contract which perhaps speaks to the terrible culture Cashman and Boone have brought to this org.
Will
It’s wild that they’d offer $760M merely for optics, and hope to god he doesn’t take it. Pretty big risk if your desire is to NOT actually spend $700M+ on a guy!
Will
I mean more that for Soto, unlike Ohtani or Yamamoto, the Yankees weren’t some hypothetical where you’re counting on the mystique to draw him in. He literally played for them and knows what it’s like.
The Original Drew
He played for them because he didn’t have a choice.
Alex G
I'm not sure if the Yankees were ever serious about bringing him back. Feels like they offered $700M for the optics then decided they didn't actually want to go much further.
Gregory B
This sucks
The Original Drew
You can absolutely be mad at Hal Steinbrenner. Do you not want to lose your second best player to the rival in the same city, offer him the most money! You hit $700 million dollars, it's all funny money after that.
Alex G
More like the Yankees like not spending money (or spending it poorly) way more than trying to win.
Brian
trying to turn this into some referendum on the yankees and/or their money is the kind of weak stomached stuff I'd see on reddit "ohtani wanted nothing to do with them" ohtani wanted nothing to do with any team on the east coast, hence why neither boston nor the mets got him (or tried), yamamoto wanted to be with ohtani and also said no to the mets, whose offer was reportedly better than the yankees
Geoffrey W.
Damn, that's such a gut punch. Hopefully the Yankees don't go banging every single dude at the winter meetings to get over the breakup with Soto. The only thing worse than losing Soto is losing Soto and then waking up one morning realizing you ended up in an Alex Bregman/Pete Alonso sandwich by your own choice. Grieve responsibly, Yankees. Maybe just call Roki Sasaki and leave an embarrassing message about all the things you'd let him do if he came here, because *he* wouldn't leave for more money! Or whatever, maybe Gleyber wasn't such a bad guy after all. You know he'd pick up the phone on the first ring.
Zack
They failed. Period. PERIOD. This is the deal. This is the bargain. The New York Yankees get to charge what they do for food and beer and tickets and parking and streaming on ten services and merchandise. IN EXCHANGE FOR THAT RIP OFF, YOU HAVE ONE RESPONSIBILITY: you sign Juan Soto.
Brian
I am disappointed. This staggers me. Soto likes money more than playing baseball me thinks.
Alex G
Cashman didn't want him. Meanwhile Harper still to this day talks about the fact he wanted to be a Yankee. A monumental blunder.
I'm Not The Droids You're Looking For
And maybe he simply wanted the most money no matter what.
Dan G
Harper’s contract is absolute steal at this point. Less than half what Soto will get an his AAV is basically the QO amount. Wild they didn’t even care to try.
Cptncha
The worst possible out come came true: World series loss, Boone stays for making it to the WS, Lose Soto.
Will
I have a hard time buying that this is indicative of “the Yankees aren’t as appealing to free agents as they used to be” when he literally played for them this year and went to the World Series. Maybe it means he actually enjoyed it less than we all assumed? Maybe he didn’t want to play second fiddle to Judge?
Alex G
I want absolutely zero part of Bregman. Stop overpaying vets in their 30's, especially ones who fell off a cliff after they got caught cheating. The Yankees need to rebuild their entire infrastructure starting with their front office and minor league development apparatus.
Alex G
Cashman and Boone have become the laughingstock of the rest of the league. The Yankees will not become a desirable destination that doesn't have to overpay for talent as long as they remain employed.
MikeD
Soto didn't care about being a Yankee, so he's gone. I don't think they could have outbid Cohen, so in that sense I can't blame Hal. They went to the World Series, Soto reportedly loved the club house and batting with Judge, but it wasn't good enough. None of it mattered. He went for the last dollar. I don't have an interest in Santander and certainly not Alonso at the years and prices that will be asked. I'd take Bregman and that's it. They might be better off filling some of the holes with non-sexy, but league average-type hitters that don't lock up too many years. Try to build some lineup depth to counter the top-heavy nature of last year. Not sure they can do that.
Cptncha
Well said man, the organization has to do some huge soul searching when your own free agent didn't return after a world series trip while offering similar money.
William
Not trying for Harper or Machado remains the defining sin of the modern Yankees.
MikeM
Call it cope, call it what you will, but the idea of spending $55MM a year for Soto for the next 15 years is a bit unsettling (which I assume it will be if they avoid the opt out). He’s not a great base runner or fielder at 26, and while he is a generational hitter, this Yankee team simply has many holes that can be fixed for $55MM. At the end of the day we have to come to the realization that this team will operate within a budget. Hal was willing to go really freaking far to sign him, but at a certain point you have to stop if you are going to live into a budget. It is what it is. Go spend $50MM AAV and upgrade some of the positions that gave us replacement value or worse last year.
Alex G
Shoot Cashman to the fucking sun. He's such a horrible GM and always has been. The front office is a joke, the coaching and development stinks, and there's nothing in the minors. And now literally nobody in the lineup who has proven they can hit in the postseason. Next season is going to be miserable unless they go all out to smartly improve the team (and NOT by making stupid panic moves). Go get Fried, Burnes, and trade for Vlad Guerrero Jr. instead of overpaying for a free agent 1B and maybe I'll be excited again.
John G
Disaster
