Juan Soto Rumors: Mets Among Teams to Check In on Yankees Star After World Series | News, scores, highlights, stats and rumors

Teams wasted no time touching base with Juan Soto in the aftermath of the New York Yankees’ season-ending loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 5 of the World Series.

According to Mike Puma of the New York PostThe New York Mets are believed to be one of about a dozen teams to sign the four-time All-Star after MLB free agency began Thursday.

The Mets have been committed to Soto before the start of the 2024 season. USA todayBob Nightengale reported in February that they were expected to vigorously pursue him as a free agent.

Soto, who is taking advantage of free agency for the first time, sounds like he will enjoy the process. He said Wednesday after Game 5 of the World Series that he is open to all 30 teams.

Per Jon Heyman of the New York PostSoto is seeking a deal worth at least $700 million that would make Shohei Ohtani the richest in MLB history. Ohtani’s deal with the Dodgers is structured so that he makes just $20 million over the next decade before getting $68 million annually between 2034 and ’43 to lower the current value and give the team more financial flexibility under the competitive balance tax.

According to Heyman, Soto’s camp is not looking for this kind of postponement in his contract.

Analysts at MLB.com predicted in September that the top candidates for Soto would likely be the Mets, Yankees, San Francisco Giants and Washington Nationals.

The Giants have been trying to land a superstar for years without success, including Aaron Judge when he was a free agent two years ago. The Nationals have an intriguing young core of talent in CJ Abrams, Dylan Crews and James Wood, but they already had Soto and traded him after he turned down a 15-year extension worth $440 million in the summer of 2022.

It seems like the two New York teams are the favorites for Soto at the moment, but it’s too early to know what will happen.

If the Yankees could potentially lose the 26-year-old superstar after reaching the World Series, especially to the team playing in the same city, that would be great theater. His teammates made it clear they hope he returns, but owner Hal Steinbrenner did suggest earlier this year he might try to cut payroll.

Mets owner Steve Cohen isn’t shy about spending money to add talent. He might be even more incentivized to do so after the club soared in the second half of the season, advancing to the NLCS before losing to the Dodgers in six games.

Players with Soto’s ability don’t come onto the market very often, so any team would have to fall over themselves to add him. He hit .288/.419/.569 with a career-high 41 home runs in 157 starts for the Yankees this season.