BREAKING: Mets, Juan Soto agree to record deal

The superstar outfielder changes the landscape of baseball with his new contract with his new 15-year, $765 million contract

Future Met Juan Soto is no longer a future Met. He’s here, it’s real, and it’s spectacular.

The Mets have reportedly agreed to a 15-year, $765 million contract with Soto, as first reported by Jon Heyman of the New York Post. Soto’s deal contains no deferred money, per Mark Feinsand of MLB.com and he has escalators that can take the total value of the deal to $800 million, according to Jeff Passan of ESPN.

Soto can opt out of the deal after the fifth year, according to Andy Martino of SNY.

The deal - which would make Soto the highest paid player in the history of baseball - is pending a physical.

Soto, who is entering his age-26 season, enjoyed a sensational season in 2024 with the Yankees, posting 8.1 fWAR while hitting .288/.419/.569 with 31 doubles, four triples, 41 home runs with 109 RBI and 129 walks and 128 runs scored. He has hit 201 home runs with a .953 OPS over his first seven big league seasons with 36.3 fWAR.

He was acquired by the Yankees in December, 2023 in a trade with the Padres, who acquired him at the trade deadline in 2022 from the Nationals after he reportedly rejected a contract offer over $400 million from Washington that season.

The Mets met with Soto in mid-November as part of their recruiting effort to woo Soto away from the Yankees and come across town to join them in what they hope will be many years of championship contention.

In the end, they were successful in their recruiting efforts and landed one of the game’s great young superstars who is on a hall of fame trajectory.

The Mets landing Soto didn’t come without steep competition. The Blue Jays and Red Sox were reportedly in heavy pursuit of Soto, as were the Yankees who are always considered to have a logistical edge because of their history, current lineup construction with Aaron Judge and favorable dimensions for Soto at Yankee Stadium.

But the Mets and their financial might and flexibility made navigating this negotiation potentially a lot simpler for them than it did for the Yankees, who were up against the first luxury tax threshold before signing Soto, whereas the Mets - with a massive amount of dollars coming off their books - still stand below the first tax threshold even after procuring one of the best players in the game.

The Met signing Soto is a precursor for other moves in the free agent market. With the best free agent off the board, the position player market is expected to begin moving, with Pete Alonso and other offensive players now expected to start coming off the board. But no matter what the Mets do the rest of the winter, the landscape of the division and the rest of the National League have changed with Soto in the fold.

Before the Mets agreed to sign Soto, they were projected for 38 fWAR in 2025. With Soto projected to be worth 6.9 fWAR in 2025, the Mets are now projected for 44.9 fWAR for 2025 before any other moves are made.

The Mets remain in the market for additional starting pitching as they continue to retool their rotation. They also must reshape their bullpen and decide whether or not they will pursue Alonso in free agency, or opt for a different approach with someone like Christian Walker, or possibly move Mark Vientos to first base and explore alternatives at third.

But for now, the Mets can celebrate their landmark agreement and new relationship with one of the game’s youngest icons.