On Sunday night, superstar free agent Juan Soto, for who this entire offseason has been built around, came to an agreement with the New York Mets.
The deal is the largest in baseball history, surpassing the $700 million contract gotten by Shohei Ohtani last offseason. When the final details are revealed, it will be the the largest deal in terms of present value as well.
The Mets had been rumored to be the leaders in the Soto sweepstakes from the outset, but the Toronto Blue Jays gave a valiant effort, reportedly getting at or near the $700 million threshold.
In the wake of losing Soto, the Blue Jays will have to pivot. They’ve been linked to top free agents like Anthony Santander, Alex Bregman, Max Fried, Corbin Burnes and Teoscar Hernandez this offseason. They had been hoping to sign Soto so they could pair him with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in the middle of the order.
Soto is currently 26 years old, meaning this deal will take him into his early 40s. He’s coming off a season in which he hit .288 with 41 homers and 109 RBI. He finished third in the American League MVP voting as the Yankees advanced all the way to the World Series.
