The New York Mets will do "everything necessary" to sign superstar slugger Juan Soto in free agency, executive Carlos Beltran recently told Joseph Reboyras of Primera Hora, a Puerto Rican newspaper, at a charity pickleball event.
"The Mets want to improve the team and there is no doubt that they will go after all the players that are on the open market knowing that the piece that everyone wants is Juan Soto," Beltran said. "And the Mets do not rule out going full blast after him."
The Mets, fresh off of a run to the National League Championship Series—and backed by the financial might of professional baseball's richest owner, Steve Cohen—have as good a chance as any team to pry the Dominican slugger away from the crosstown rival New York Yankees, seen as a tentative favorite to win the Soto sweepstakes.
And Beltran, who joined the Mets front office in February of 2023, stressed that Cohen's willingness to express his desire to win is not just an act.
"The Mets’ owner is one of the wealthiest in the game and wants to win," Beltran said. "When he tells the press that he wants to win, he doesn’t say it to rile up fans. It’s personal for him and I got to see that being with the team this year."
Soto, who turned 26 in October, is coming off a career year that saw him post a .288/.419/.569 slash line with 41 home runs, 109 RBI, 128 runs scored and 129 walks in 157 games played. Soto was named a finalist for a Gold Glove and on Tuesday night took home his fifth career Silver Slugger award.
The market for Soto, which includes the Yankees, Mets, Toronto Blue Jays and Boston Red Sox, among others, is expected to push the star slugger's contract numbers into the stratosphere. Pundits project Soto to earn a contract in the $600 million range, but hard-driving agent Scott Boras could push for a deal that rivals the record-breaking 10-year, $700 million contract Shohei Ohtani signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers last winter.
No matter the price, it seems the Mets are pulling out all the stops. Cohen is slated to fly to Southern California to meet with Soto this week. Mets star shortstop Francisco Lindor, who has reportedly been "recruiting" Soto, touched down in Los Angeles on Sunday evening and appears slated to join Cohen's meeting with Soto. Beltran wouldn't confirm as much, but did say Soto will now have the opportunity to "at least listen" to Lindor after playing with Yankees center fielder and designated hitter Aaron Judge.
Boras told reporters at the general manager's meetings that Soto will "take his time" in free agency before making a decision.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Mets Will Do 'Everything Necessary' to Sign Juan Soto, Says Executive Carlos Beltran.
