The New York Mets have made history by reportedly signing Dominican baseball superstar Juan Soto on a 15-year, $765m deal – the biggest ever in professional sports – leading oddsmakers to tab New York as a serious contender to go all the way next season.
Major League Baseball’s (MLB) official website and multiple media outlets in the United States reported Soto’s blockbuster move on Sunday.
ESPN reported that Soto’s Mets contract could eventually be worth more than $800m if certain benchmarks were met, eclipsing the $700m, 10-year contract the Los Angeles Dodgers signed with Japanese star Shohei Ohtani last year.
Soto had entered free agency after playing last season for the New York Yankees, who had hoped to re-sign the gifted 26-year-old outfielder. He blasted 41 home runs and amassed 166 hits for the Bronx Bombers last season.
The guessing game over Soto’s likely next destination had dominated baseball’s rumour mill since the Yankees were beaten 4-1 by the Dodgers in the World Series in October.
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The Yankees were just one of several teams actively pursuing the explosive slugger, with the Mets and the Boston Red Sox amongst the teams who met with Soto’s representatives to discuss a possible deal.
The Mets, however, won the race for Soto after a season in which they made a giant-killing playoff run to the National League Championship Series, where they eventually lost to the Dodgers.
The Mets will be the fourth team of Soto’s relatively short career.
He exploded onto the Major League Baseball scene during his first full season in 2019, helping the Washington Nationals score an upset World Series victory over the Houston Astros.
He rejected a $15-year, $440m offer to stay with the Nationals in 2022, and was eventually traded to the San Diego Padres in August of that year.
But Soto failed to settle in San Diego and headed back to the East Coast in December 2023 in a trade that took him to the Yankees.
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