Earlier this week, the New York Mets made the move people have been talking about for the last five years. They signed superstar outfielder Juan Soto to the largest contract in the history of professional sports.
This in and of itself is fantastic for the Mets, as Soto is a generational talent and still only 26 years old. However, for Mets’ fans, this is something more. The Mets outbid their crosstown rivals and have shown that they are no longer the little brother to the Yankees.
This is the moment fans have been waiting for since Steve Cohen bought the team back in 2020. The New York Mets of the past are gone and forgotten. Gone are the days of signing washed up former all-stars to shut the fans up. Gone are the days of not being considered a big free-agent landing spot. Gone are the days of rooting for a baseball team that’s owned by the bank.
The fans who were loyal to the poverty “LOLmets” team of the past deserve this. The Mets now have an owner who will drop his nuts on the table and dish out historical contracts, and still have enough money to do more. Cohen has delivered on his promise to pull this franchise out from the depths of hell. Obviously, the job’s not finished until they win, but even just competing in this league is appreciated by fans of this franchise, as it’s something they’ve never really seen before.
Now, as a Mets fan, I’m obviously ecstatic about this signing. However, I can recognize and agree that it’s an overpay, and that this deal makes MUCH more sense for the Mets than it would’ve for the Yankees. $765 million (with a chance to become $805 million) over 15 years is an absurd amount of money, and you can’t really blame Yankees’ owner Hal Steinbrenner for not wanting to go over $760 million. The negotiations for this one single player started to become laughable when they surpassed the Ohtani contract. However, the Mets needed this to prove that they’ve arrived. The Yankees did not.
For the Yankees, this could actually turn into a positive. Sure, it sucks that they couldn’t match an offer for a player they wanted to retain, but that sounds to me like $760 million available to spend on players such as Pete Alonso, Cody Bellinger, Corbin Burnes and Max Fried. The Yankees now have the opportunity to create some major depth coming off a year in which they won the American League pennant. However, most fans don’t trust this front office to get the job done.
Although this can benefit the team in the Bronx, we’ve still seen some terrible takes from the fans in an effort to cope with the loss:
- “Juan Soto isn’t loyal.”
First of all, Soto made it very clear when he was traded to the Yankees that he was open to all 30 teams when he hit free agency. In fact, we’ve pretty much known he was going to take the most money possible since he was a teenager. He’s been on three teams, and spent the least amount of time of his career in New York. Sure, they went to the World Series last year, but he won a World Series with a different franchise. Saying he isn’t loyal because he chose the money just isn’t fair in this case. Believe it or not, he did not owe the Yankees anything just because they let him hit in front of Aaron Judge.
- “I don’t want Pete Alonso. It’d be like taking the Mets’ sloppy seconds.”
At this moment, the Yankees’ first baseman is DJ LeMahieu. I understand signing Pete Alonso would come off as desperate after this move, but who cares? He would improve the current team, would mash in Yankee Stadium, and likely won’t cost too much coming off a relatively bad season.
- “The Mets’ lineup still isn’t that good. One player doesn’t make that big a difference.”
This is the worst one. You may not like it, but don’t pretend a player of this caliber doesn’t completely change a lineup, just like he did for yours. Juan Soto was the piece the Yankees needed to take the next step to the Fall Classic, so why won’t he do the same for the Mets?
Also, the Mets have a good lineup! It features two MVP candidates in Soto and Lindor (although it’s going to be a tough ask in the National League). Brandon Nimmo is coming off a down year but is still a very good bat, Francisco Alvarez is another huge power threat, and Jeff McNeil (if he’s even on the roster come Opening Day) does have a batting title under his belt. They also have some great young talent in Mark Vientos, Luisangel Acuna and Ronny Mauricio. Plus, they’re not done. Our new owner has, for all intents and purposes, unlimited money and will not hesitate to spend it.
In closing, this should no longer be an issue of big brother/little brother in New York. This signing shows that there are now two big brothers in this city. At the end of the day, though, it comes down to winning. Neither of these two teams have won anything in 15 years, and both have the opportunity this offseason to change that for years to come. March cannot get here soon enough.
Tough Money Sports 