O/T - Juan Soto - 15 years/$765M with the Mets

[tycobb]

Glad he wont be wearing Dodger blue !


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[oldjudge]

Makes Ohtani, who is a much better player, look cheap

[philo98]

Contract goes over $800 million with escalators.

[bk400]

As a Mets fan, I'm ambivalent. He's an asset in the batting order, but I'm not convinced he's the guy who brings us our next championship.

I'm envious of the Dodgers. When you can bring in a guy like Ohtani who clearly wants most to win rings, it's great for the franchise.

[cgjackson222]

Originally Posted by oldjudge

Makes Ohtani, who is a much better player, look cheap

I agree Ohtani is the better player, but Soto is only 26, and Ohtani is 30.

Not that Soto’s age justifies a contract of over $700 million though.

Soto was never my favorite player, but as a Mets fan, I hope he gels with the team and helps them win a championship, even if it will be somewhat cheapened by the fact that they are outspending everyone else in what seems a somewhat reckless way.

[SyrNy1960]

Would have liked Soto to remain a Yankee, but not for that kind of money for one player. I would rather they invest that kind of money in multiple players. Heck, Yankees couldn't even win a World Series with Judge and Soto.

[SyrNy1960]

Will be interesting to see how it plays out for the Mets.

[packs]

The only contract I remember that worked out in the mega deal era is A-rod’s original mega deal. Soto is in the same general age range and I expect he will be well worth the money.

[D. Bergin]

Juan Soto JUST turned 26, has no discernible injury history, is a power hitter who Walks more then he strikes out (who else in this day and age does that?) and even though he's already been on 3 teams and may have had some bouts of immaturity in the past, seems like a steady clubhouse presence, who pretty much stays out of the limelight and minds his own business.

He's predictable, he's not streaky. Check out his career splits. He's the same home or away, and he's the same from month to month to month, throughout the season.

He's a professor of hitting and never-changing. He's the closest thing, to a sure thing in baseball, and still very young. That's why teams were foaming at the mouth to wrap him up for a long time.

and....and....and.......he's been great in the postseason.

No, he's not the marketing powerhouse that Ohtani is...and I'm not sure why fans would care if he is or not. He hits the ball hard, and he gets on base.

No, he's not a 5 tool guy like Mike Trout either. He's steady and predictable and AVAILABLE about what exactly he can give to a team in the long term, and front offices and team owners will love that about him.

He's the perfect storm. He's the closest we have to a modern day 26 year-old Ted Williams. No, Ted never won a title either, but you'd sure love to see if he might get you there in the right situation.

Now, all that said. He DID sign with the Mets. So there's just as good of a chance that within 2 years he tears a labrum, fractures many metacarpals, falls in the shower, or just so happens to run into the tallest pile of cocaine that anybody has ever seen and things just go downhill from there.

[Vintagedeputy]

He would be a sure fire HOF as a Yankee. Bad move.

[BobbyStrawberry]

Originally Posted by D. Bergin

Now, all that said. He DID sign with the Mets. So there's just as good of a chance that within 2 years he tears a labrum, fractures many metacarpals, falls in the shower, or just so happens to run into the tallest pile of cocaine that anybody has ever seen and things just go downhill from there.

As a Mets fan I admit that this is a strong possibility.

[cgjackson222]

Originally Posted by D. Bergin

Now, all that said. He DID sign with the Mets. So there's just as good of a chance that within 2 years he tears a labrum, fractures many metacarpals, falls in the shower, or just so happens to run into the tallest pile of cocaine that anybody has ever seen and things just go downhill from there.

Let's not forget that because he is now a Met, he could get attacked by a wild boar
, lose a finger during a hedge clipping incident, be in a cab that gets sideswiped by a drunk driver, or badly injure himself while celebrating.

[puckpaul]

Originally Posted by cgjackson222

I agree Ohtani is the better player, but Soto is only 26, and Ohtani is 30.

Not that Soto’s age justifies a contract of over $700 million though.

Soto was never my favorite player, but as a Mets fan, I hope he gels with the team and helps them win a championship, even if it will be somewhat cheapened by the fact that they are outspending everyone else in what seems a somewhat reckless way.

Also a Mets fan. Reckless? Steve cohen made $8bn since he bought the Mets at least. The Dodgers added Snell to that team already. The Yankees made the WS with the help of Stanton, who they overpaid and mothballed until he could contribute after many injuries. Those two made the WS. What do the Mets do, let them get all of the top players and wait five years to build the farm system better? They will do that too, and be competitive for years to come. They have been outspent for decades while having poor ownership. It’s their time. Let’s see if it helps!

[Balticfox]

Juan Soto needs to be sent down to AAA now to sharpen his game. His batting averages of .275 and .288 in the last two years tell me he's not hitting the ball where it's pitched. And his stolen base totals of only 12 and then 7 indicate he lacks hustle.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by cgjackson222

I agree Ohtani is the better player, but Soto is only 26, and Ohtani is 30.

Not that Soto’s age justifies a contract of over $700 million though.

Soto was never my favorite player, but as a Mets fan, I hope he gels with the team and helps them win a championship, even if it will be somewhat cheapened by the fact that they are outspending everyone else in what seems a somewhat reckless way.

Soto is closing in on 40 WAR at age 26 that's pretty extraordinary.

[Balticfox]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

Soto is closing in on 40 WAR at age 26 that's pretty extraordinary.

Only if you assign any degree of credibility to this newly hatched WAR stat.



Incidentally, will the Mets still be on the hook for roughly $51 million per year if they cut Soto or send him down to the minors?

[drmondobueno]

Originally Posted by oldjudge

Makes Ohtani, who is a much better player, look cheap

+1

[z28jd]

Two things here that most people don't think about. By the time the deal is over, $55M per year might not look that bad. Go back 15 years to the big deals and they look small in comparison now. His final years probably won't stand out as much.

The other thing is that I hate seeing these deals. I already can't afford to go to games, nor would I pay the prices if I could. The quality of play in baseball is awful now in my opinion. I can't tolerate nine innings of strikeouts and solo homers most nights. So they aren't losing me by raising prices, but you know this contract will have a domino effect. Everyone will cost more now, which will be paid by the fans, not the owners going into debt.

As a side note I was just talking to a relative about this subject earlier today. I noticed how few photos I saw of relatives at games this year on Facebook. I have a large family with many baseball fans who used to go to games. I mean I probably saw 100 games total each year between various cousins and such. Now I go to none. My dad goes to none. We went with cousins to games for years and they don't go. I think I saw photos from no more than five games this year. I checked some family pages and saw just two games. My brother used to do 20 games a year. He went to three this year and two were gifts. The other one was a playoff game.

I know MLB claims higher attendances the last two years, even though that is tickets sold/comped and not actual fans in the seats, but I dread where stadium prices are going in the very near future for people. I don't get the appeal to leave the house, while investing the extra time, once it reaches a certain price. You could buy a great TV, saves thousands and thousands and watch from home with surround sound and all the snacks you want at a fraction of the cost.

These free agent deals this year are scary for the sport's future.

[Jay Wolt]

Originally Posted by z28jd

Two things here that most people don't think about. By the time the deal is over, $55M per year might not look that bad.

But Soto will be 42 when the contract ends
so will he still be that productive in his 40's to justify $55 million a year?

[packs]

A-Rod won 3 MVPs during his mega deal with the Rangers. Would you consider that money well spent?

[conor912]

I stopped trying to make sense of the economics of baseball a long time ago. If they’re not a case study in what’s wrong with America, I don’t know what is.

[packs]

Harper signed his mega deal with the Phillies at age 26. The first year of his deal the Phillies finished 500. In 2021 he won an MVP, in 2022 the Phillies went to the World Series, in 2023 the Phillies went to the Championship Series and in 2024 the Phillies were back in the postseason again.

Harper has won an MVP, a NLCS MVP, and won 3 Silver Slugger awards in the first five seasons of his deal.

Is he worth the money?

[jingram058]

I hope he gets deported.

[John1941]

Originally Posted by Jay Wolt

But Soto will be 42 when the contract ends
so will he still be that productive in his 40's to justify $55 million a year?

He'll be 40 at contract's end. He'll be worth $55M/year at the beginning of his contract, and if inflation keeps pace with his declining ability, he'll be worth it at the end.

[Snapolit1]

So if I have this right, Juan Soto will make $785M in 15 years Elon Musk will make appx. $9 billion in December 2024.

I'm done with baseball. This is outrageous.

[jingram058]

Originally Posted by Snapolit1

So if I have this right, Juan Soto will make $785M in 15 years Elon Musk will make appx. $9 billion in December 2024.

I'm done with baseball. This is outrageous.

I'm with you Steve. But I've been done with baseball for a long time. I did go to game at Yankee Stadium last year. But that's it. I don't watch it. And I have zero interest in going to the stupid baseball country club in Cooperstown. Sooner or later the whole thing will come crashing down.

[GasHouseGang]

Maybe there are a bunch of extra incentives in Soto's contract, but Ohtani is getting $700M over 10 years ($70M a year) and Soto is getting $765M over 15 years ($51M a year). Isn't Ohtani still the highest paid player in baseball on a yearly basis?

[Fred]

Soto is like a little kid with his celebrations. He's an incredible talent, but you'd figure he'd come to understand that there's a time to celebrate. One example is his team was down 6-1 and he was celebrating hitting a double (nobody on base). There was a picture in the paper showing Soto celebrating. In the picture, the second baseman was looking at him and the look in the second baseman's eyes said "why are you celebrating, your team is down by 5 runs".


It looks like MLB team ownership (and probably other sports leagues) are taking a page from the US government economic playbook when it comes to mortgaging the future in order to pay today's insane salaries and deferred payments.

[sports-cards-forever]

Soto is a great player, but he also was hitting in front of Aaron Judge. He's not going to have that protection on the Mets, plus the pressure of a big salary. When he went to the Padres, he struggled with those expectations. He will have Lindor to take some of the pressure off, but I'm surprised that he made the move considering the Yanks and Mets were offering nearly the same terms

[packs]

I know you can't replace a Soto but I also think everyone in New York has forgotten about The Martian. He is very good and we haven't seen him unleashed yet either.

[z28jd]

Originally Posted by Jay Wolt

But Soto will be 42 when the contract ends
so will he still be that productive in his 40's to justify $55 million a year?

He will be 40 during the final season. He turned 26 about a month ago, so he will be 26 for all of the first season.

As for the deal being good in 2039, that's not what I was trying to get at. I meant that by the end it won't look like such a crazy deal in comparison to 2039 free agent costs.

Albert Pujols signed with the Angels 12 years ago for ten years, $240M. If Pujols was in the same exact spot in his career/age looking for a ten year deal today, it would be about $500M, yet when he signed back in 2012, it seemed like a lot of money. Add another three years distance for the Soto comparison. Who knows what his 15-year deal would look like during the 2039-40 off-season if he was in the same spot.