Could Mets Sign Superstar Free Agent Expected to Draw $600 Million?

The New York Mets' decision to pursue one of baseball's biggest stars in free agency will shape their franchise's future.

Grant Young | Oct 18, 2024

Oct 14, 2024; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees outfielder Juan Soto (22) hits a solo home run during the third inning against the Cleveland Guardians in game one of the ALCS for the 2024 MLB Playoffs at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images / Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

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While there are a lot of compelling players entering free agency this offseason, none will get New York Mets fans more excited than Juan Soto.

The Yankees' 25-year-old superstar is entering free agency coming off a career year where he would have had a good chance of winning 2024 AL MVP if not for the even more extraordinary season that his teammate Aaron Judge produced.

Although Soto will soon have Judge beat in one regard.

Judge signed a nine-year, $360 million contract with the Yankees back in December 2022. While that's a staggering amount of money to pay anybody, an October 17 article from the New York Post's Jon Heyman noted that the figure Soto will likely command this offseason is going to blow his teammate's contract out of the water.

"The whisper number for Juan Soto now is $600 million," Heyman wrote.

"Word was that he would have eclipsed that with beloved late Padres owner Peter Seidler. And now Soto added his best full regular season, showed he can thrive in New York and reaffirmed the belief he’s a postseason player."

Luckily for Mets fans, their franchise is expected to be one of very few who have that kind of money to spend on one player and are likely willing to do so for Soto.

Earlier this month, ESPN insider Buster Olney predicted, "I think [Soto is] going to wind up with the Mets," on an episode of the 'Baseball Tonight with Buster Olney' podcast.

"I think the fact that the Mets are having this phenomenal season, the way that it's playing out, is going to increase the likelihood that he's going to land there," Olney added. "Because there's going to be an enthusiasm with Steve Cohen.

Time will tell whether Cohen keeps that same enthusiasm when Soto comes asking for $600 million.

Published Oct 18, 2024

GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers the New York Yankees, the New York Mets, and Women’s Basketball for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco, where he also played Division 1 baseball for five years. He believes Mark Teixeira should have been a first ballot MLB Hall of Fame inductee.