5-6 teams are in the running for Juan Soto, Mets/Yankees still likely favorites

Plus, Francisco Lindor finished second in the voting for NL MVP in 2024

What’s Up with the Mets? 🍎

• SS Francisco Lindor finished in second place behind Shohei Ohtani for the league’s MVP award (MLB.com)

• The Mets signed INF Joey Meneses to a minor-league deal with an invite to spring training (New York Post)

• The Mets signed RHP Hobie Harris to a minor league deal (MLB.com)

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The Juan Soto Sweepstakes ♨️

USA Today Sports

• There could be 5-6 teams in the running for Juan Soto, with the Mets and Yankees likely remaining the favorites (New York Post) - Nov. 21

• The Royals and Rays are among other teams to have, “checked in” on Soto (New York Post) - Nov. 21

• Red Sox CEO Sam Kennedy confirmed that his team are firmly in the Juan Soto sweepstakes, making clear that the Sox have “a sense of extreme urgency internally” to be competitive in 2025 (SNY) - Nov. 20

• Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner revealed that he had a “very honest” meeting with Juan Soto, but has “no idea” if the superstar will return to the Bronx (NY Post) - Nov. 20

• Juan Soto ending up with the Mets this winter is seen as the “most likely scenario” according to one prominent insider (Rosenthal) - Nov. 19

• The Dodgers reportedly met with Juan Soto on Tuesday (Feinsand) – Nov. 19

• The Phillies haven’t met with Juan Soto yet, but they plan to (Heyman) – Nov. 19

• The Mets are willing to bid $50 million over whoever is the highest bidder for Juan Soto (YES Network) – Nov. 18

• The Yankees met with Scott Boras and Juan Soto on Monday, and now the Dodgers are expected to meet with him (New York Post) – Nov. 18

• Mets owner Steve Cohen, president of baseball operations David Stearns, and manager Carlos Mendoza met with Scott Boras and Juan Soto on Saturday in Newport Beach, CA (New York Post) – Nov. 16

  • The Mets came away “hopeful” and perhaps “optimistic” of their chances of being able to sign Soto

  • They remain viewed as one of the favorites to sign Soto, as the meeting went very well

• Someone would have to blow Juan Soto away with an offer to pry him from the Yankees, who could sign before the Winter Meetings (SNY) – Nov. 12

• Francisco Lindor has taken a role in the club’s pursuit of free agent superstar Juan Soto (ESPN) – Nov. 12

• Soto is eying a $700 million contract in free agency (Heyman) – Oct. 31

• After the Yankees lost Game 5 of the World Series, Soto told reporters all 30 clubs will be in play for his free agency this winter (watch) – Oct. 30

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Rumor Mill 💨

• RHP Roki Sasaki’s agent angrily refuted the rumors of a handshake agreement with the Dodgers (Athletic)

• Free agent RHP Walker Buehler turned down the Athletics because of their situation in Sacramento (CBS Sports)

• The Red Sox could be a landing spot for Alex Bregman if they move Rafael Devers to first (New York Post)

• Boston is also engaged in talks with Blake Snell, Max Fried and Corbin Burnes (New York Post)

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There needs to be a set definition for the MVP Award in MLB… ✍️

Even before the award was announced, it was inevitable that Shohei Ohtani’s name would be called as this year’s National League MVP. We all knew it, even if we wanted the outcome to be different. We probably all knew it would be unanimous too.

NL MVP Voting, 2024

A 50/50 season for Ohtani is certainly both impressive and historic, but voting for him was taking the easy way out. With a more critical eye, Francisco Lindor’s chances should’ve been better, and an argument could be made that he should’ve taken home the award in 2024.

Before the 2023 season, Major League Baseball instituted a change to the size of the bases. The bases were enlarged, which shrunk the distance between bags by 4.5 inches. Couple that rule change which limits the amount of pickoff attempts, and it is now easier to steal a base than in years past. As a result, stolen bases as a whole have gone way up over the last couple of years.

A total of 3,617 bases were stolen in 2024, which is the highest it has been in over 100 years.

Granted, if it were easy to steal 50 bases, then more players would be doing it, and only Elly De La Cruz had more than Ohtani with 67 steals. However, it needs to be said that Ohtani was also just a DH in 2024 and didn’t play one minute on the baseball field because he was still recovering from a second Tommy John Surgery he underwent in late 2023. He is off his feet for most of the game, which gives him an advantage to steal with fresh legs.

I would argue that Ronald Acuña Jr.’s 40/70 MVP season is all the more impressive since he also played defense.

If Major League Baseball wanted to honor Ohtani for his offensive prowess, he absolutely should be the recipient of the Hank Aaron Award, which is given to the top offensive player in the league. Most Valuable Player, however, means something completely different from my seat. Ohtani joined an already stacked team, and the Dodgers most likely would’ve made the playoffs without him.

The Mets, on the other hand, probably wouldn’t have made the playoffs without Lindor. His stellar defense combined with his offensive performance, especially down the stretch, was invaluable to the team.

Lindor and the Mets also had a special narrative at the end of the season, as they were the feel-good story coming back from 11 games under .500 to making the playoffs on the last day of the season. It’s fine if data and facts drive the decisions when handing out these awards, and it’s also fine that voters use their own criteria when defining an award which really hasn’t been given such criteria and definition for those voters. But it’s not as if there isn’t a precedent for the feel-good MVP candidate to ultimately win the award.

After all, in 2007, Jimmy Rollins took home the honors over David Wright after the Phillies came back from seven games out with 17 to play to win the NL East and knock the Mets out. Rollins declared his team would make the playoffs, and so when they did, the narrative won out. Rollins took home the award despite not even being the best player on his own team that year - Chase Utley had a 7.8 fWAR season compared to Rollins’s 6.1. Meanwhile, Wright produced an fWAR of 8.3 that year, and while Mets fans would argue the award should rightfully be his, the one who really got robbed was Albert Pujols and his 8.7 fWAR season.

Still, narratives are powerful until they’re not, and apparently, that was the case this year with Lindor. In any other year, Lindor probably would’ve been the National League’s Most Valuable Player while meeting all of the voters’ varying criteria.

There seems to be more of a set definition or more of an understood criteria for the Cy Young Awards, and there always seems to be less of a debate around those winners. And while it’s unfair to consider disqualifying or discounting Ohtani’s credentials for winning the award, there should be more of a set criteria for qualification or consideration. That would eliminate the debate and probably qualify a more worthy candidate in some years.

Like, if the MVP Award goes to the player with the highest bWAR or fWAR or average among the two, fine. Say it. If it goes to the best player on a team that wouldn’t have been a playoff team without him, fine. Say it.

But it shouldn’t be a fluid definition, depending on the year.

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Around the League 🚩

• Both Shohei Ohtani and Yankees slugger Aaron Judge unanimously won their league’s MVP award (ESPN)

• The St. Petersburg City Council voted against spending $23 million to fix the roof of Tropicana Field (CBS Sports)

• Rich Hill pitched well against Team Japan in the WBSC Premier 12 tournament and the soon to be 45-year-old is hoping to pitch in the majors in 2025 (Sports Illustrated)