The New York Mets and superstar outfielder Juan Soto agreed on a 15-year, $765 million contract in what’s believed to be the most lucrative deal in team sports history.
Soto’s decision to leave Yankee Stadium for and a source familiar with the negotiations confirmed to NBC News the specifics of Soto’s massive contact that now puts him a top the biggest name in pro sports.
A year ago Monday, generational star Shohei Ohtani announced he signed a $700 million deal to make a short geographic move, from the Los Angeles Angels in Anaheim to the Dodgers, who play in downtown L.A.
Soto’s move from the Bronx to Queens marks another bold move by Mets ownership to emerge from a massive shadow cast by the nearby Yankees.
has never been shy about opening his checkbook,out an MLB-high $341.8 million for his 40-man roster in the 2024 season, according to .
Shortstop Francisco Lindor is playing under a . Cohen had shelled out and before of away in 2023.
This season, the Mets rallied from a 24-35 start to make the playoffs and push the eventual world champion Los Angeles Dodgers to .
The NL East club had a strong offense, , the seventh most in baseball. Soto’s arrival should strengthen the Mets’ offense or at least lessen the blow of possibly losing to free agency.
Soto’s departure could be a major setback for the AL-champion Yankees, in five games to the Dodgers in October.
The Yankees had baseball’s No. 3 offense this year, scoring 815 runs with a top-heavy lineup that’s now suddenly without a key contributor.
Soto drove in 109 runs for the Yankees, making for a powerful trio with (144) and Giancarlo Stanton (72).
But they were the only three Bombers with at least 72 RBIs, while the champion Dodgers had five batters with at least 75 RBIs. The Mets had five hitters with at least 69 RBIs in 2024.
The Mets have won two World Series (1969 and 1986) since.
And while that pair of titles account for two of the best-known teams of 20th century baseball — and the — the Mets have long fought to by the Yankees.
Soto’s addition is the Mets’ most aggressive move yet to wrest the Big Apple spotlight away from the Yankees.
Soto, 26, was hands down this winter’s most highly sought free agent, valued as much for his elite baseball skills as his birth date.
Baseball players must put in before they’re allowed to fully test free agency. Those half-dozen years of club control, at less-than-free-market salaries, can be a disincentive to sign free agents who their athletic peaks at .
Soto broke into the big leagues as a 19-year-old phenom, setting the free agency clock ticking at an early age and offering bidders a rare chance to score a player with so many prime years left in his career.
He belted a career-high to go along with 109 RBIs (.
Soto is also one of baseball’s most disciplined and patient hitters, having drawn walks in , compared with the overall MLB rate of 8.4%, .
And in an age of swing-for-the-fences baseball, he struck out just 16.7% of the time, while the league whiffed at a 22.2% clip this season.
