Except for the final number of dollars, which blew away even veteran baseball executives, the signing of Juan Soto by the New York Mets was the most predictable outcome in years on the free agent market. No offense to the New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers, Toronto Blue Jays and Boston Red Sox, but they all were competing for second place and the golf clap from their fans that they tried really hard.
You can break down the $765 million, 15-year deal—the largest known contract in the history of sports—all you want. How Soto had the chance for a monument at Yankee Stadium by riding shotgun with Aaron Judge into the next decade. How a pure hitter, with little defensive or baserunning value, turned the $700 million of two-way unicorn Shohei Ohtani into a bargain just one year into Ohtani’s 10-year deal. Whether Soto is “worth” it or not.
