Ava’s Angle: The Juan Soto effect

In December, the New York Mets made the biggest splash of the Major League Baseball offseason, signing 26-year-old phenomenon Juan Soto to a record breaking 15-year, $765 million contract. The contract is the largest and longest in the entirety of the sports world, surpassing Shohei Ohtani’s $700 million dollar contract he signed in December of 2023. 

“This is a sentimental moment in franchise history,” said Mets Owners Steve and Alex Cohen. “Juan Soto is a generational talent. He is not only bringing staggering historical statistics with him but also a championship pedigree. Our Amazin’ fan base is very excited to welcome Juan to Queens.” 

Soto made his major league debut six years ago in 2018 with the Washington Nationals. Fast forward to now, he just completed his age-25 season with the New York Yankees. In that six-year period, Soto has arguably made himself one of the best players in the league with 201 home runs, five Silver Slugger Awards and a batting title in 2020. In 4,088 career plate appearances, Soto holds a .285/.421/.532 slash line, and his on-base percentage is the best among active major league players. 

In 2024, Soto was an MVP finalist for the second time in his career. He finished third in the American League MVP voting three years after he was runner-up in the NL MVP voting while with the Nationals. This past season, he hit a career-high 41 home runs with 128 runs scored and owned an 8.1 fWAR, which was the fourth best in MLB. One of Soto’s strengths is clutch moments, and he made for one of the highlights of the postseason when he launched a three-run go-ahead home run in the 10th inning of the ALCS Game 5 to help take the Yankees to their first World Series appearance since 2009. These statistics and these moments are exactly what the Mets hope Soto will bring across town to Queens.  

Since Steve Cohen officially bought the Mets in 2020, he has worked tirelessly to change the camaraderie of the team and take them to the top of the baseball world. He wants the team to be highly competitive on the field and include the most prestigious players in the game on their roster. Cohen’s first major move as owner was signing Francisco Lindor to a 10-year, $341 million dollar contract in 2021 and he has continuously proved his ability to do so by signing Soto this offseason.  

Ohtani was the significant signing of last year’s offseason, however Soto becoming a free agent after the conclusion of this past season has always been on team’s radar, especially the Mets. New York had many things to offer, including Cohen’s seemingly unlimited amounts of money along with his willingness to spend it on Soto and additional players to ensure a dynamic roster for years to come. Cohen had made his vision clear of bringing a World Series to Queens as soon as possible, and he has no intention to stop spending money or producing record payrolls until he achieves that goal.  

“Today’s signing further solidifies our organizational commitment to consistent championship competitiveness,” Mets President of Baseball Operations, David Stearns said. “Not only does Juan provide historic levels of on field production, but his joy, intensity, and passion for the game mirror our budding culture. We are thrilled to add him to our team and look forward to watching his excellence for years to come.” 

With Soto to the Mets, he is expected to play right field, which will push Tyrone Taylor to center field and Brandon Nimmo to left field. Where Soto will slot in the lineup is still yet to be known, but he is figured to be in the top third of the Mets’ lineup with Lindor and Nimmo. The Mets don’t seem to be done with their free agency spending this offseason. It remains to be seen if the team will bring back first baseman Pete Alonso in free agency. Even though the two sides don’t look to be anywhere close to a deal, you can never count out Cohen. However, New York did bring back starting pitcher Sean Manaea which adds to their rotation currently led by Kodai Senga, David Peterson and Frankie Montas. New York also just brought back outfielder Jesse Winker who was a large part of the 2024 Mets season. 

Soto’s impact has already been felt at Citi Field even though he has yet to play a game in Queens. Single-game tickets went on sale on Dec. 9, which was less than 24 hours after Jon Heyman reported the record-breaking deal that sent Soto to the Mets. New York announced they established a new-high for first day ticket sales and it ended up tripling the amount that was sold on the first day of the last offseason in December 2023. Additionally, the jersey and merchandise sales skyrocketed for the soon-to-be Mets slugger. According to Ebay, on Dec. 9 searches for “Juan Soto” on the site increased by 380% compared to the week prior Dec. 1-7. The items searched and bought included Soto cards in his new Mets threads. 

There is about a month until all major league teams report to spring training and there is so much anticipation from fans to see Soto in a Mets uniform for the first time ever. The Soto effect is real in Queens, and it will only continue to benefit the Mets when Soto steps on the diamond for years to come.