Yankees, Mets war for Juan Soto begins: Let’s see ‘how much they want me’

NEW YORK — Yankees right fielder Juan Soto sat alone in the dugout as the Dodgers charged the field, celebrating their second World Series title in five years.
Now begins the next phase in the 26-year-old outfielder’s career — free agency. And at least two teams, the Yankees and the Mets, are ready to win the free agency 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 opportunities when I go 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 gonna look at what they have and how much they want me.”
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While the Dodgers recently entered the fold as possible suitors for Soto, the belief is that the Dominican native prefers the East Coast, leaving both New York teams — and the Blue Jays — as possible favorites to land the young slugger.
With that said, how do the Yankees and Mets fare in the Soto sweepstakes and who comes away with the prize? Let’s look at a couple of factors that should come into play.
Mets financials favorable to Yankees
The Mets enter the offseason with approximately $150 million in commitments, about $190 million less than their payroll at the end of the 2024 season. With the Competitive Balance Tax (CBT) at $241 million for the 2025 season, the Mets have just under $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 pretty much the entirety of the player universe is potentially accessible to us,” Stearns said recently. “That’s an enormous opportunity. I envision us taking advantage of that opportunity and being aggressive in certain spaces.”
The Yankees, on the other hand, are already committed to $216 million for next season, lending them less salary flexibility.
There’s also the question 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 the CBT, making it so the Yankees would be paying twice the amount of Soto’s contract.
Mets owner Steve Cohen would likely be exciting the CBT threshold, less so since the team enters the offseason with more money to spend.
But experience matters
There’s no price tag on the experience Soto has had in pinstripes.
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), run scored (128), home runs (41) and OPS+ (178).
It was a season that saw him earn his fourth All-Star nod and marked his return to the World Series for the first time since 2019.
The Mets are left with only being able to sell Soto on a promise. That can return to the postseason in 2025 and beyond — they’ve only been to the postseason on back-to-back seasons twice in franchise history, 1999 and 2000, and 2015 and 2016.
Prediction: Given Stearns’ comments, the Mets sign Soto for 14 years, $574 million ($41 million AAV).
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Manny Gómez may be reached at [email protected].