5 reasons why the New York Mets will regret paying Juan Soto

The New York Mets were involved in a historic bidding for free agent Juan Soto, who secured a 15-year contract worth an astonishing $765 million. He received the largest professional contract in sports history. While the Mets were keen on getting their man, there are five clear reasons why this could backfire for them. All statistics are sourced from Baseball Reference.

The Mets play in the largest market in the country, so they’re no stranger to attention and pressure. With that said, they’ve been able to somewhat fly under the radar, playing in the same city as the New York Yankees. However, with the ink now dry on the Soto contract, they won’t have that luxury anymore.

According to the New York Post, Mets owner Steve Cohen told Juan Soto during their free agent meeting that he wanted to win two to four World Series in the next decade. Those lofty goals reportedly resonated with Soto, who just played in the World Series in 2024 with the Yankees. The Mets will now have no choice but to meet those expectations, or this move will be viewed as a failure.

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For sports fans of a certain age, this might sound a little like what LeBron James said he would accomplish when he joined the Miami Heat. The NBA star said that he, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh would win “not one, not two, not three, not four…” and so on titles. They did end up winning two titles, which would be satisfactory for Soto in Queens.

It was pretty clear that Soto was going to chase every last dollar during free agency, which was well within his right. Some thought the Yankees might be able to get a discount after making the World Series with Soto, but the generational hitter nixed that notion. He told USA Today, “I don’t have any doors closed or anything like that. I’m going to be available to all 30 teams.”

A lot of MLB’s gargantuan contracts have been negotiated in such a way that massages the financial burden on a club, or at least spreads it out over a long period of time. In Juan Soto’s case, he was not interested in collecting any of the money long after his playing days were over. As CBS Sports and others have noted, Soto’s contract includes no deferred money.

There is an opt-out clause after five years, which the Mets can bypass by raising Soto’s salary five million dollars annually over the final 10 years of the deal. Time will tell where Soto will be emotionally with the team, and whether or not New York would automatically pay the raise. With that said, Soto definitely came out ahead with regard to the financials on this deal.

It wasn’t just the contract that Soto and his agent Scott Boras were after. The exemplary hitter also wanted perks that other teams were not willing to agree to. For example, Essentially Sports and others wrote about Soto’s request to have a complimentary suite available for his family during all home games. The Yankees weren’t comfortable including this in addition to their contract offer.

The Yankees had never given that away before, and made team legends like Derek Jeter and Aaron Judge pay for their own suite. They were not going to go back on their precedent to give Soto one. Meanwhile, the Mets gave him a suite a Citi Field, according to Forbes. Soto will also be provided with four premium seats behind home plate, as well as personal security for him and his family.

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While it’s impressive that the Mets were willing to provide white glove treatment for the apple of their eye, there’s certainly an argument to be made that they went too far in stooping down to the player’s requests. A case could be made that Soto’s needs were high maintenance, and that the Mets just set a precedent that they will cater to his every need for the next 15 years.

While Juan Soto’s production at the plate is prodigious, his outfield defense has not been great. As Empire Sports Media pointed out, Soto ended up with negative ratings in several categories, including outs above average and defensive runs saved. Social media has had a field day posting Soto’s misplays on flyballs in the outfield since he signed with the Mets.

The New York Daily News reported in July 2024 that Soto was not interested in being a fulltime designated hitter, and that he wanted to play the field. It’s possible that Soto wanted to remain in the outfield to increase his value in free agency, but if he holds on to this desire with the Mets, it could dramatically hinder their defense next season.

It’ll be fascinating to learn whether or not Soto and the Mets discussed this pretty important domino during their free agency negotiation, or whether the discussion will be deferred to spring training. Soto now has his money, so it’s possible he will back off of his previous requests to play the field.

Regardless of how you slice it, the figures involved in this contract are hard to fathom. It seemed like a given that Soto’s market would take off given the interest of baseball’s most deep-pocketed teams, but it was hard to predict that he would end up with the final figure he got from the Mets. At first glance, his contract total might not make a ton of sense.

Soto’s deal eclipses the total value that the Los Angeles Dodgers gave Shohei Ohtani during the winter of 2023. The Japanese star received a 10-year, $700 million deal at that time, with the idea that he would be able to contribute at the plate and on the mound. While Ohtani didn’t pitch in his first Dodgers season, it looks like there’s a chance he’ll be able to throw in year two.

Soto is not going to pitch in New York, and he doesn’t figure to be a factor on the basepaths either. Ohtani created his own club during the 2024 season, becoming the first player to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in the same year. Soto isn’t going to steal bases at that clip, so he’ll have to challenge for the triple crown at the plate to make his contract appear worth it.

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