Whispers spread throughout the MLB community this week claiming that New York Mets owner Steve Cohen will ultimately spend whatever it takes to win the Juan Soto free-agency sweepstakes over clubs such as the New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies, Toronto Blue Jays, Los Angeles Dodgers and Boston Red Sox.
During a Thursday appearance on Philadelphia sports radio station 94WIP, ESPN’s Buster Olney echoed the Mets-Soto prediction.Â
“I think in the end, the Mets are going to wind up separating themselves from all other teams,” Olney said about Soto’s uncertain future, Audacy’s Andrew Porter shared. “We’re going to see a crazy number in the end. If you’re the Phillies, are you going to outbid the richest owner?…The Yankees?…The Blue Jays?”
After former Mets player Carlos Beltran, who serves as special assistant to team president of baseball operations David Stearns, said last week the club would “go full blast” to sign Soto, well-known MLB insider Jon Heyman of the New York Post named the Amazins the favorites to win the services of the All-Star outfielder. The Athletic’s Jim Bowden later agreed with Heyman, while Bob Klapisch of NJ Advance Media said he believes Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner is “preparing for Soto’s defection into the Mets’ loving embrace.”Â
Yankees announcer Michael Kay’s revelation that he heard Cohen could outbid all other owners by up to “$50M” to sign Soto seems to be further proof that somebody wants it known that the Mets intend to make the 26-year-old the best offer regarding the total guaranteed money attached to the contract.Â
“Yankees people believe Soto, like most free agents, will take the best deal, which is why the Mets with Cohen are probably as well positioned as anyone,” Heyman wrote about the club that played in this fall’s National League Championship Series for a piece updated Thursday evening. “…Cohen has more money than anyone and is just as motivated. They have $150M coming off the books and are a team on the rise.”Â
Interestingly, Heyman added that “some think [Soto] prefers things somewhat quieter” than he experienced during his one season with the Yankees. Back in late October, SNY manager of editorial production Danny Abriano mentioned that “there is pressure to perform [with the Mets], but nothing near the level of the business-like, highly-pressurized atmosphere in the Bronx, where the type of facial hair you have, how long the hair on your head is and the amount of chains you wear is controlled from above.”
In short, Steinbrenner has plenty of work to do to convince Soto he should build his legacy with the Yankees rather than with the Mets over the next decade.