The richest contract in Major League Baseball history was consummated Sunday night, as 26-year-old outfielder Juan Soto agreed to a 15-year, $765 million deal with the New York Mets.
Soto signed with the Mets over the New York Yankees, who reportedly had a 16-year, $760 million on the table. The other three finalists were the Toronto Blue Jays, Boston Red Sox, and Los Angeles Dodgers.
While the Mets, Yankees, Blue Jays, and Red Sox were reported to be in the $700 million range, the Dodgers were not. Reports circulated before Soto signed that the Dodgers were in the $600 million range. On Monday, The Athletic revealed that $600 million is exactly as high as the Dodgers went.
“But in this instance, a league source said that the Dodgers capped their offer to Soto at $600 million,” The Athletic wrote.
The Dodgers made MLB history last offseason when they signed Shohei Ohtani to a 10-year, $700 million deal. At the time, it was the richest contract in MLB history — but on Sunday, Soto and the Mets shattered it.
The Dodgers were interested in adding Soto to a team that won the World Series just a month ago. But clearly, they weren’t going to get involved in a bidding war. That is why the Dodgers were never considered favorites to land the superstar outfielder.
While the Dodgers didn’t sign Soto, they did add a left-handed hitting outfielder on Sunday night. The Dodgers agreed on a one-year deal with former Mets and San Francisco Giants outfielder Michael Conforto, filling the team’s need for a lefty slugger in the outfield.
The Dodgers still have room to bring Teoscar Hernández back, but his market just got more robust.
Both the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox were expected to shift their focus to Hernández if they didn’t sign Soto, as Dodgers Nation reported on Sunday.
The Blue Jays are expected to be interested in adding Hernández, too.
