Everyone’s familiar with the most expensive MLB player on the block, Juan Soto. After inking a massive $765 million deal, Soto crushed all records, including the one set by Shohei Ohtani at $700 million last year. But with great money comes greater expectations. Even Ohtani had to face them, and he did deliver by winning a championship for his team, the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Financially, LA has also generated a lot with ticket sales and Ohtani merchandise. Their rise among the Japanese baseball fandom also helped immensely, as tourists would frequently visit the stadium where their idol was playing. Do the New York Mets expect the same craze for Soto? Maybe, but the team will want to see some revenue as they have put so much money into one player. 

It looks like Juan Soto has finally been paying off for the Mets financially. Mets beat writer for MLB.com Anthony DiComo recently gave an update on X about the Mets Spring Training games. DiComo wrote, “The Soto Effect? Last Saturday’s Mets Grapefruit League opener was the most-watched Spring Training game ever on SNY, with 189,021 viewers.” But that is not all; Soto shined on the field too! 

Soto smashed a home run four pitches into his first game wearing a Mets uniform against the Houston Astros. The single shot traveled 426 feet to left-center with an exit velocity of 106.2 mph and a launch angle of 28 degrees. In the bottom of the second, Soto added a groundout for an RBI. When they replaced their major leaguers in the fourth inning, New York had a 4-0 lead. The Dominican player is already showing that he is worth all that contract money. However, let’s not forget a big part of that deal is 15 years. That is a lot; even President David Stearns thinks so.  

Juan Soto left the Mets president of baseball operations still processing the enormity of the deal 

Signed on December 11, the record-setting contract set a new bar for future player negotiations. While Stearns is clearly thrilled to be part of such a historic moment, he can’t help but marvel at the sheer scale of it. It’s a commitment so massive that it feels almost surreal. For David Stearns, the magnitude of the contract is not just about the money or the impressive tenure, but about the profound impact it will have over the next decade and a half.  

In a lighthearted moment, he pointed out that his daughter, who is just starting kindergarten, will be finishing college when the deal expires according to Forbes. Still, Stearns remains unfazed by the staggering nature of the deal, instead expressing excitement over the potential it holds for the Mets and for Soto. As he put it with a smile, if he’s still in his role 15 years from now, things will have gone very well for both him and the franchise.

While the deal is undoubtedly a game-changer, Stearns is confident that it will pave the way for a new standard in baseball contracts, one that reshapes the way teams approach long-term investments in their star players. It’s a bold new era, and Stearns, still in awe, is grateful to play a key role in this remarkable chapter.