The New York Mets recently agreed to terms with superstar outfielder Juan Soto on a 15-year contract worth $765 million after a furious bidding war with the New York Yankees, with whom Soto spent his standout 2024 season.
It's easy to see why the Mets won the bidding. They had the highest offer, and it included no deferred money and a $75 million signing bonus. As well, Soto was given an opt-out after five years – one that the Mets could negate only by pushing the total value of the deal past $800 million.
The Yankees' final offer was quite competitive – reportedly $760 million over 16 years, also without any deferrals. The New York Post's Jon Heyman reported Monday night that the Yankees "were given the chance [to match the Mets' offer] but declined. On Tuesday, though, Heyman changed his story and said instead that the Yankees "had the option to keep bidding" but "hit their limit."
The Yankees also reportedly refused to offer Soto a free suite at Yankee Stadium -- as the Mets did at Citi Field -- saying that neither Aaron Judge nor Derek Jeter were afforded such a luxury. They did, however, offer him a discount.
Every team has a maximum price, and the Yankees apparently reached theirs before the Mets did. It's not hard to imagine a scenario in which the Yankees just assume Mets owner Steve Cohen, the wealthiest and perhaps most motivated of MLB owners, had been willing to keep raising the bid until he prevailed. That's sort of what happened, according to the Post.
The frenzied bidding is understandable, of course. Soto is a generational hitter who's still just 26 years of age and whose blend of batted-ball authority and plate discipline – elite on both counts – bode very well for the future. In the end, the Yankees blinked first when it comes to the market rates for such a talent, and that was to the Mets' lasting benefit.