TAMPA — The New York teams pursued Juan Soto beyond $500 million and $600 million and eventually to the mid-$700 millions. Both saw the still-prime age, the historic hitting talent and the lineup impact he could have — now and well into the future.
So the Yankees went to 16 years at $760 million to try to keep him, and the Mets won at 15 years at $765 million. And while they were aligned on their assessment of Soto, what the Yankees did next, the Mets would not have had they failed to land Soto:
The Yanks signed a starter entering his age-31 season to an eight-year contract for the most money ever guaranteed a lefty — $218 million for Max Fried.
The David Stearns Mets have shown philosophically that they do not believe in long-term deals for any player in his 30s — cue Pete Alonso’s re-entry music on a two-year deal. So while the Yankees quickly viewed Fried as the best counter to losing Soto, the Mets never even engaged on Fried or Corbin Burnes, who signed a six-year, $210 million pact with Arizona to cover his ages 30-35 campaigns.
