The best part is, he doesn’t even have to move. It was a battle back and forth that could have been conducted via subway as the Yankees and Mets battled for the free agent outfielder. HUGE money was thrown around this weekend with the belief being the Yankees would manage to keep him. That’s not what happened.
The Yankees usually keep their man and they came out of the gate strong offering a 16 year deal worth $760 million. According to “insiders” the deal was pretty much a lock as of 3pm yesterday. But, that all changed when a call from Queens offered Soto more money on a shorter deal. The Mets offered a 15 year deal worth a whopping $765 million. You know it’s huge money when you say “well it’s JUST a $5 million difference between deals”.
The fact of the matter is, this is an overpay. There is NO WAY Soto is worth more than Shohei Ohtani. Not a chance. Not to mention, this contract is not deferred, comes with a massive signing bonus, it’s loaded with incentives and comes with an opt out. Soto got the money because Mets owner Steve Cohen has money to burn. The wealthiest team owner in baseball. This was a major steal from the Yankees and may just take away the reputation of “the Yankees harmless little brother.”. Either way, the pressure is on Soto. Mets fans (like Yankees fans) will let him know if he’s worth it.
-Chad