Inside The Mets

Here's Why Juan Soto Could Prefer Mets' Rival in Free Agency

One of the New York Mets' biggest rivals have a unique advantage in this offseason's Juan Soto sweepstakes.

Grant Young

Jul 29, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; New York Yankees outfielder Juan Soto (22) celebrates win against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images
Jul 29, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; New York Yankees outfielder Juan Soto (22) celebrates win against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images / Eric Hartline-Imagn Images
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The consensus within the MLB community is that about eight teams have an actual chance to sign Juan Soto in free agency this offseason.

The New York Mets are unquestionably one of those teams. Unfortunately, so are the Mets' bitter NL East rival Philadelphia Phillies.

And in a November 13 article, Bleacher Report's Zachary D. Rymer conveyed a unique reason why the Phillies could have an upper hand in the Soto sweepstakes.

"Frankly, it's a little weird that DraftKings doesn't give the Phillies odds for signing Soto," Rymer wrote.

"They are built unabashedly on free agents, with commitments to Bryce Harper, Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber, Nick Castellanos, J.T. Realmuto and Aaron Nola totaling over $1 billion. And the first were formerly with Soto in Washington, and ditto for hitting coach Kevin Long.

"'Kevin Long was so good to me that when he left, it was tough to get another guy,' Soto said in April," Rymer added.

This last quote is a reference to an April 12 article from Brendan Kuty of The Athletic, which mentioned the relationship Soto had with his former hitting coaches with the Washington Nationals.

Soto's potential desire to reunite with Long — who has received much criticism after the Mets beat the Phillies in the 2024 NLDS — gives Philadelphia an advantage that New York fans would likely be clamoring for at this point.

However, Rymer also conveyed why the Phillies are a long shot to sign the 26-year-old superstar, despite Long's presence.

"The Phillies are projected for a $288.4 million luxury-tax payroll in 2025. That's well over the first threshold of $241 million and not even $13 million shy of the top threshold, so one can understand why Dave Dombrowski sounds more pensive than usual," he wrote.

Therefore, the Mets likely have to be less worried about the Phillies than some of the other major threats to sign Soto.

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Grant Young
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.

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