Inside The Mets

Mets' Broadcaster Not 'All In' on Signing Juan Soto

Ron Darling is not all in on the Mets' pursuit of Juan Soto in free agency.

Logan VanDine

Oct 28, 2024; New York, New York, USA; New York Yankees outfielder Juan Soto (22) walks during the sixth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers in game three of the 2024 MLB World Series at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images
Oct 28, 2024; New York, New York, USA; New York Yankees outfielder Juan Soto (22) walks during the sixth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers in game three of the 2024 MLB World Series at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images / Brad Penner-Imagn Images
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The offseason has officially arrived, and so has the Juan Soto free agency sweepstakes.

For the first time in his career, the 26-year-old star is set to be a free agent; after slashing .288/.419/.569 with a career-high 41 home runs and 129 RBI in his first season with the New York Yankees, Soto is expected to receive one of the largest contracts in major league history. Naturally, the New York Mets will be one of his top suitors, and are eager to give him that record-setting deal.

However, with the Mets reportedly checking in on Soto's availability just days after the Bronx Bombers lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series, one of the Mets' all-time great players is not quite on board with Soto coming to Queens.

Speaking with Mike Puma of the New York Post, Ron Darling does not think the Mets should go all-in on signing Soto despite being the prolific hitter that he is.

"Juan Soto is as great a hitter as I’ve ever seen and Aaron Judge had a great season, but one player doesn’t make it. I don’t know, maybe you get two $300 million players," Darling said.

Darling, who pitched for the Mets from 1983 to 1991 and is currently one of their color commentators on SNY, subsequently doubled down on his reasoning; he explained that with the season the Mets had in 2024, they don't need to sign a player like Soto to help them win a championship.

"The Mets proved this season that they have a lot there, and adding to that nice mix is going to be fun. I wouldn’t judge it by, 'If you don’t get Soto, then you have no chance to win,'" Darling said.

The Mets shocked the baseball world this past season after heading into 2024 with very few expectations. After starting the season 0-5 and being 11 games under .500 at the end of May, they went on to have one of the league's best records down the stretch and finished the regular season with 89 wins; New York made the postseason as a Wild Card team and went all the way to the NLCS before ultimately falling in six games to the aforementioned Dodgers.

While adding a player like Soto will make the Mets an immediate contender, Darling believes New York's current group can build off their fairytale 2024 season and make another deep postseason run.

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Logan VanDine
LOGAN VANDINE

Logan is a graduate of Rider University where he majored in Sports Media and minored in Sports Studies. During his time at Rider, Logan worked for Rider's radio station, 107.7 The Bronc as a sports host, producer and broadcaster, and for the school's paper: The Rider News. He began his time with The Rider News as a section writer for sports and was a copy editor for two years followed by being one of the sports editors during his senior year. Logan also placed third in the New Jersey Press Foundation Awards for sports feature writing. Aside from his work on Yankees and Mets On SI, he is also a writer for FanSided covering the New York Giants and Mets and also covers the Giants for Total Apex Sports.

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