Did the Mets overpay for Juan Soto’s $765M deal? Its impact on other free agents and Yankees’ next moves after losing out on the superstar
The New York Mets won the fight for Juan Soto, but it may have cost them a lot. On Sunday, they signed the slugger to a 15-year, $765 million contract. While the contract is the largest in professional sports history, its $51 million average annual value (AAV) trails Shohei Ohtani's $70 million.
The question now is whether or not Soto is truly worth this much. Both the Mets and New York Yankees seemed to think he was, as the Yankees' final offer was $760 million over 16 years. Is he?
Soto has a lot of unique factors working in his favor. He hit free agency at 26, much younger than most players. He has also had several great seasons, so he's good. His age meant that teams could sign 15-year deals and it wouldn't be as big of a risk.
However, the overall money is still astronomical. The Mets felt he was worth whatever it took, but Soto is arguably not worth that much money. He's a great hitter but a poor defender and baserunner.
In terms of overall fWAR, Soto finished fourth behind Aaron Judge, Bobby Witt Jr. and Shohei Ohtani. Even with his age factored in, Soto is not worth more overall than Ohtani or more than Witt or Judge on a per-year basis.
In baseball, it's hard to overpay for anyone since there's no salary cap and mega contracts are commonplace now. It's hard to envision the Soto deal not aging relatively poorly in the latter years.
However, Soto's best ability is his eye and patience at the plate. Those are not dependent on athletic ability, so he will still at least have that skill when he's making over $50 million as a 40-year-old hitter.
How does Juan Soto's deal impact other free agents
Interestingly enough, two major free-agent signings occurred before Juan Soto. Many expected everyone to wait for Soto to set the market and sign with teams that missed out. However, Willy Adames and Blake Snell didn't wait.
Other free agents did, though, and now they can begin signing. The biggest impact of Soto's deal for these players is that it reveals the true options. The Mets may not be contenders for a lot of big free agents anymore.
The Yankees, who lost out on Soto, should be aggressive with other players and might overpay a little to ensure they get some talent after losing out on their right fielder.
Since they missed out, the Yankees need to sign some of the following players: Christian Walker, Tanner Scott, Alex Bregman, Anthony Santander, Teoscar Hernandez, Ha-Seong Kim, Max Fried, Corbin Burnes or Jurickson Profar.