New York Mets Seen as 'Biggest Threat' to Sign Juan Soto Away From Yankees

One MLB insider makes a clear case as to why the New York Mets are on the Yankees' radar for the upcoming Juan Soto Sweepstakes.

Oct 25, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; New York Yankees outfielder Juan Soto (22) hits a single in the sixth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers during game one of the 2024 MLB World Series at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

A majority of New York Mets fans are probably rooting for the team that beat them in the NLCS to win the 2024 World Series.

This sounds absurd on the surface. But when one considers that this team (the Los Angeles Dodgers) is playing the Mets' cross-town rival New York Yankees in the Fall Classic, this pro-Dodgers sentiment starts to make more sense.

Not only is the Mets faithful likely rooting for Los Angeles because it halts potential bragging rights, but many analysts are convinced that if the Yankees win the World Series, it will likely mean that superstar slugger Juan Soto — who will become an unrestricted free agent and demand a ton of money this offseason — will stay in the Bronx.

Regardless of World Series outcomes, an October 25 article from the New York Post's Jon Heyman conveys that the Mets will still be a major player to secure Soto's services.

"The Mets aren’t even officially in the Juan Soto sweepstakes yet, and the crosstown competition is already heating up. Weeks before the expected derby is to begin, a Yankees executive fired the first salvo," Heyman wrote.  

“Going from the Yankees to the Mets … that’s a buzzkill,” Heyman quoted a Yankees executive saying before adding, "The Yankees, who, no surprise, are making Juan Soto their top priority this winter, logically envision the deep-pocketed, on-the-rise Mets as their biggest threat in the derby for the top free agent this winter. 

"The Yankees presumably only enhanced their chances to keep Soto by reaching the World Series for the first time in 15 years — with a big boost from Soto himself, of course — but they can see the threat from eight miles to the south and east," he continued.

Heyman later noted that Mets owner Steve Cohen's willingness to spend big on Soto makes them such a major threat. While it might take an offer Soto simply can't refuse to convince him to leave the Yankees, indications are that Cohen is keen to make such an offer if need be.