Fastball

Juan Soto Will Attempt to Make Baseball History on Multiple Fronts With Mets in 2025

The New York Mets signed Soto to a 15-year deal on Sunday night, and now, he'll work to live up to the dollar figure.

Brady Farkas

New York Yankees right fielder Juan Soto (22) follows through on a solo home run against the New York Mets during the fifth inning at Citi Field on June 25.
New York Yankees right fielder Juan Soto (22) follows through on a solo home run against the New York Mets during the fifth inning at Citi Field on June 25. / Brad Penner-Imagn Images
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The New York Mets came to a historic agreement with free agent outfielder Juan Soto on Sunday night. The 15-year, $765 million deal is the largest in the history of the four major professional sports and trumps even Shohei Ohtani's $700 million contract from last offseason.

The mega deal was made possible given the extraordinary set of circumstances surrounding Soto's career. Very rarely does a player who is just 26 - and as accomplished as Soto - hit free agency, so the dollar figure was always going to be high.

Soto is a four-time All-Star and a batting champion who helped the Washington Nationals win the World Series in 2019. He is also a five-time Silver Slugger winner, a home run derby champion and is coming off a year in which he finished third in the American League MVP voting with 41 homers and 109 RBI.

Now that he's secured history with his checkbook, Soto will also look to make history on the field, according to Sarah Langs of MLB.com:

Juan Soto hit 41 HR last season for the Yankees

No player has had a 40-HR season for both the Yankees and Mets

And this one:

Juan Soto has made the All-Star Game in 3 straight seasons with 3 different teams

No player has done so in 4 straight years with 4 different teams…yet

No player has even made an ASG for a 4th team [regardless of consec] before turning 31. He’s 26

h/t @EliasSports

The deal contains an opt-out clause after five years, meaning that if Soto keeps performing well, he could hit free agency again in his career.

The winter meetings begin on Monday and a Soto press conference is likely.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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