Mets among about 11 teams to reach out to Soto

The first day of the off-season means Juan Soto the chase continues. Until Monday, only the Yankees are allowed to discuss salary figures. However, other teams may contact his camp to widely express interest and represent their organizations now that the World Series is over.

The top free agent has received no shortage of attention. Jon Heyman of the New York Post writes that by Thursday morning 11 teams were in contact with the Soto camp. Mike Puma of The Post reported that among them were the Mets, who were widely perceived as the main rival of the incumbent Yankees.

It’s no surprise that Soto has captured the attention of more than a third of the league’s players. There isn’t a front office that wouldn’t want to hire him. The number of legitimately reliable applicants is much smaller. Soto’s contract requires that this figure be prohibitive for all but a few teams, although Heyman writes that the original eleven included two unidentified small franchises. Still, it’s hard to imagine Soto landing on a team that isn’t a traditional juggernaut.

To that end, Heyman is open to the possibility that Soto’s camp hopes to make more than $700 million without any money set aside. Bye Shohei Ohtani At that point, without adjusting for deferrals, the deal’s net present value was well below $500 million. MLB estimates Ohtani’s deal to be worth just $461 million for luxury tax purposes, while the Players Association pegs it at about $438 million. Any number still represents an all-time record. Ohtani’s contract is the only one in MLB history to exceed $400 million.

There is little doubt that Soto will outperform both versions of the NPV of Ohtani’s deal. Doing this for a contract with a current value of $700 million is a huge task. This would require breaking the warranty record by more than $240 million. To achieve this would require at least $50 million per year for 14 years. Ohtani’s deferment-adjusted average annual value is $46.06 million, the only AAV above $44 million.

No free agent has signed in 14 years. Fernando Tatis Jr. is the only player signed to a 14-year contract, although his $340 million contract was extended through his age-22 season. Bryce Harper Before he was 26, he spent 13 years as a free agent, just like Soto now. Harper received a relatively smaller annual salary of $25.38 million, and while Soto is certainly going to surpass that number, breaking the AAV record. And Signing the longest free agent contract of all time would be an ambitious undertaking.

Of course, Soto is heading into free agency with extremely high expectations. Apparently, this process will continue in the off-season, possibly after the December winter meetings. It is assumed that every high-paying franchise has some degree of involvement with Soto. The general expectation is that there will be a huge war between Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner and Mets owner Steve Cohen. Mets President of Baseball Operations David Stearns already stated that the organization has payroll flexibility to consider using “virtually the entire universe of players.”

Puma notes that while the Mets may shy away from signing players who need draft compensation, it is not surprising that they are willing to make an exception in Soto’s case. He will reject a qualifying offer, so the Mets will forfeit their second and fifth overall draft picks and $1 million in international bonus pool to sign him.

This is not a problem for a player of Soto’s caliber. If the Mets are unwilling to give up compensation, it could be a factor in their other free agency pursuits. They will be actively involved in the selection of free agent pitchers. Corbin Burns And Max Fried will receive a QO, but Blake Snell And Jack Flaherty have no right. Borderline QO candidates include Michael Wacha, Nick Martinez And Nick Pivetta. As with Soto, they may view Burns and Fried as exceptional free agents for whom they are willing to take a stab at their farm system. This will be part of the plot of what should be an exciting offseason in the Big Apple.