In a little over two months, the MLB world will be rocking with a frenzy—not for an ordinary reason, but for Juan Soto. Soto will be a free agent, and the last time anyone of his caliber reached the open market was during Alex Rodriguez’s time. Back then, Rodriguez signed his record-shattering 10-year, $252 million deal. So, one can imagine the deal that could be happening now! Moreover, Soto has been waiting for this moment to arrive. Remember him turning down the Washington Nationals $400 million contract for something better? Well, the moment has arrived!

Soto has proved that he deserves to get a better contract this season. He has aced it with the New York Yankees and set a career-high of 37 home runs, drawing walks at a rate few can match, and striking out less than almost anyone with his power. Given this, no team in the lineup would want to pass out on him. Even Scott Boras can’t afford to mess this up. Soto is bound to receive one of the most credible deals. But from whom? According to top insider ESPN Jeff Passan, the ball is with the New Yorkers right now.

The battle for Juan Soto is heating up!

Juan Soto has been creating magic on the diamond and the Yankees have benefited much from his and Aaron Judge’s duo. In fact, they are compared to the modern-day Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig–which says a lot about their partnership. Given that all eyes are definitely on the New York Yankees currently. If they make it to the top now, letting Soto walk off would be unthinkable, and could leave the fanbase in a tailspin. But here is the fact—Soto’s going to follow the money and not everyone can play in that league. So, as ESPN’s Jeff Passan perfectly put it: “Behemoth vs. behemoth.” 

Jeff Passan said, “The Yankees cannot lose Soto. If they win their first championship since 2009, they can’t possibly let him go, and if they lose early in the postseason they’ll panic about how much worse it would be without him. Yet there stand the Mets, themselves in need of a middle-of-the-order bat, owned by a man in Steve Cohen who understands data better than any of his peers. And the data says that once a player hits 30, his career will likely regress. So to get a superstar for four full seasons before he turns 30 — and do it without having to give up players in a trade — makes him the consummate Mets target.”

According to Passan, it’s going to be a whopping $600 million deal! If that prediction is true it’s going to be the Yankees and their neighbor, the New York Mets. Mets owner Steve Cohen seems to have deep pockets, and right now, with Francisco Lindor on the roster – they are getting ahead as a team. Lindor is even shaping up to be one of the top contenders for the MVP award. So, a move to take in Soto and get that dominant status—Cohen sure would want that. 

New York Mets’ deep pockets can snag Juan Soto

The Mets have no problem in making a firm push with Juan Soto. They have a smart owner, who knows the name of the game and for sure, has deep pockets. As of March 2024, he has a net worth of $16 billion and is the richest owner in the MLB. So given that, money sure won’t be a problem. Mets shortstop, Francisco Lindor himself, presented an interest in having Soto in his team. He mentioned, “He’s having a fantastic year and I hope he goes out there and breaks every record out there when it comes to getting paid. If it’s with us, it’ll be fantastic. He’ll help us a lot.”

But given the buzz, other teams would want to chime in. Jon Heyman of the New York Post laid out the odds for 10 teams who would want to get on this ride to claim Soto. according to him Soto’s former teams Washington and San Diego likely to come through and so are some of the market’s heavyweights like the Dodgers. And it does make sense—Dodger did spend an arm and a leg for Shohei Ohtani! 

As far as the Phillies go, they have Soto’s old buddies Bryce Harper and Trea Turner. But Jeff Passan is not convinced that there is anyone ready enough to take on that showdown apart from the New York teams. The rest, according to him, will just back off when the crazy numbers start coming in. But one thing is for sure—this is possibly heading to be one of the biggest contracts in free agent history. It could even surpass Ohtani’s deal; so buckle up and get ready for the off-season madness!