Yankees, Mets War Over Juan Soto Begins: Let’s See ‘How Bad They Want Me’

NEW YORK — Yankees right fielder Juan Soto sat alone in the dugout as the Dodgers stormed the field, celebrating their second World Series title in five years.

Now the next phase in the 26-year-old outfielder’s career begins: free agency. And at least two teams, the Yankees and the Mets, are poised to win the battle for his services in 2025 and beyond.

Soto has made his intentions clear, he is open to listening to any team interested in his services.

“I feel like every team has the same opportunity going into free agency,” Soto told reporters. “I don’t want to say anyone has an advantage because at the end of the day we’re going to look at what they have and how much they want me.”

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While the Dodgers recently joined the group as possible suitors for Soto, the belief is that the Dominican native will prefer the East Coast and leave both New York teams – and the Blue Jays – as possible favorites to land the young slugger.

That said, how do the Yankees and Mets fare in the Soto sweepstakes and who will walk away with the prize? Let’s look at some of the factors that should come into play.

Mets financials favor Yankees

The Mets enter the offseason with approximately $150 million in liabilities, approximately $190 million less than their payroll at the end of the 2024 season. With a Competitive Balance Tax (CBT) of $241 million for the 2025 season, the Mets have slightly less than $90 million to spend on arbitration-eligible players and free agents before taking a luxury tax hit.

What does this mean for Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns and the front office?

“It means that virtually the entire player universe is potentially accessible to us,” Stearns said recently. “That is a huge opportunity. I imagine we will take advantage of that opportunity and be aggressive in certain areas.”

The Yankees, on the other hand, have already committed $216 million for next season, giving them less salary flexibility.

There is also the issue of ownership. Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner is much more conservative than his father, George (aka “The Boss”). After signing arbitration-eligible players, New York would be close to CBT, paying the Yankees twice the amount of Soto’s contract.

Mets owner Steve Cohen would probably find the CBT threshold exciting, but less so as the team enters the offseason with more money to spend.

But experience is important

The experience Soto has had with pinstripes doesn’t come with a price tag.

With the Yankees, Soto enjoyed the best 162-game season of his career. In 157 games, he slashed .288/.419/.569 and posted career highs in hits (156), runs scored (128), home runs (41) and OPS+ (178).

It was a season in which he earned his fourth All-Star title and marked his return to the World Series for the first time since 2019.

The Mets can only sell Soto on a commitment basis. That could return to the postseason in 2025 and beyond — they’ve only been to the postseason twice in consecutive seasons in franchise history: 1999 and 2000, and 2015 and 2016.

Prediction: Given Stearns’ comments, the Mets sign Soto to a 14-year, $574 million ($41 million AAV) deal.

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Manny Gómez can be reached at [email protected].