Juan Soto, Mets reportedly agree to 15-year, $765 million deal

Juan Soto is remaining in New York, but he's switching boroughs.

The 26-year-old superstar outfielder has agreed to a 15-year, $765 million contract with the New York Mets, the New York Post first reported Sunday and was later confirmed by FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal. The contract is the largest in total value in MLB history, surpassing the 10-year, $700 million pact Shohei Ohtani signed to join the Los Angeles Dodgers last offseason.

With the deal, the Mets add one of the most talented young hitters in recent memory and should have him for at least five of his prime seasons. Soto's contract includes a player opt-out after the fifth season in 2028, potentially allowing him to become a free agent again when he's 31. Additionally, Soto will receive a $75 million signing bonus as part of the deal, according to Rosenthal.

Additionally, Soto's contract could become the first $800 million deal in North American sports history. It has deferred money and escalators that reach above $800 million, according to ESPN.

As Soto moves from The Bronx to Queens, his decision to sign with the Mets is a massive blow to the New York Yankees. He helped the Yankees reach the World Series in his first and only season with the club, posting a .288/.419/.569 slashline with 41 homers and 109 RBIs.

The Yankees made an offer that nearly matched what Soto received from the Mets. Their final offer was a 16-year, $760 million deal, the New York Post reported. The Boston Red Sox, who were also a part of the sweepstakes for Soto, made an offer that was worth around $700 million over 15 years, MassLive reported. The Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays were also among the finalists, with it being previously reported that Los Angeles' wasn't offering as much as the other contenders.

Soto, a four-time All-Star, is already a well-decorated player for his age and has even drawn comparisons to all-time greats like Ted Williams. Although he's yet to win an MVP award, he finished third in AL MVP voting this past season, marking his fourth top-six MVP finish over the last six seasons. Among active hitters, he ranks 20th in career batting average (.285), first in on-base percentage (.421), fourth in slugging percentage (.532), third in OPS (.953) and 11th in at-bats per home run (16.3). He's also recorded 201 homers and 934 hits in 936 career games.

Soto's free agency has been highly anticipated in MLB circles over the last few years. He reportedly turned down a 15-year, $440 million contract extension from the Washington Nationals in 2022, just three seasons after he helped them win a World Series. That contract rejection led the Nationals to trade Soto to the San Diego Padres in July 2022. Soto and the Padres reached the NLCS later that season, but San Diego traded him to New York after the team had a disappointing year in 2023.

Even as the Yankees made their run to the World Series this past season, Soto's free agency continued to dominate headlines. By the time the offseason began, only a handful of teams met and extended him an offer as he was projected to sign a contract worth at least $600 million.

The process to sign Soto moved relatively quickly after teams met with him and his agent, Scott Boras, at his agent's office in Southern California in November. At that point, it was expected that Soto would sign a deal by the end of the winter meetings on Thursday, serving as one of the first major dominoes to fall this offseason.

But the timeline moved to Sunday, when teams arrived in Dallas for the week, opening the winter meetings with a bang.

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