It's a Juanderful Life
A toast to Steve Cohen, the richest man in town.
“The thing about the old days…they the old days.” — Slim Charles
The epic saga of Juan Soto’s free agency — headlined by a seemingly endless bidding war between the old money Yankees and the new money Mets — reached its conclusion on Sunday night with December 8th, 2024 becoming a day that will live in Mets lore forever. The rabbit finally got the gun.
For their entire existence, the Mets have lived in the shadow of their more senior and established rivals to the northwest. 27 championships, Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio, Mantle, Costanza and — for the 2024 season — Soto. For the 60+ years of their existence, the Mets and their fans have tried, and mostly failed, to compete with the Bronx Bombers for attention, talent and championships. The Yankees have been an international phenomenon, the Mets a punching-bag and late-night television mockery.
But, in 2020, when Steve Cohen bought the controlling stake of the team he grew up rooting for as a kid on Long Island, you could feel the tide turning just a little. With Cohen signing Soto to a record-breaking 15-year, $765 million contract — the most lucrative in professional sports history — the Mets’ transition from laughingstock to legitimate force is complete.
Of course, none of this matters if the Mets don’t end their almost 40-year title drought anytime soon. However, by getting Soto — and taking him from the Yankees specifically, who reportedly offered him 16 years and $760 million — Cohen has thrown down the gauntlet. He wants multiple titles, he wants the Mets to become what the Yankees currently are, and he doesn’t care what he has to spend to make his team the top dog in New York. Money talks and when you have the most money, your words are a bit more convincing.
After a spectacular one-year cameo in Yankee pinstripes, highlighted by a 10th inning three-run home run that won New York the American League pennant, Soto decided not to spend the rest of his career — or at least the next five seasons, after which his deal with the Mets features an opt-out clause — with reigning AL MVP Aaron Judge on the most famous sports team in the world. Instead, he chose to play for the team traditionally known as second fiddle in the Big Apple.
To call Soto’s decision a monumental one somehow feels like cheapening its impact. One of the best players in the sport, in a relative dead-heat in terms of overall financial outlay — for a difference of around $3.5 million per year, not including unspecified escalator clauses which could earn Soto more than $800 million over the course of his full Mets contract should he not opt out — picked the Mets over the Yankees. Little brother no more.
We’ll leave the analysis of day how Soto actually fits in with the Mets for another day. Other moves will need to be done to ensure that the 2025 version of this team can truly match up with the likes of the Dodgers, Yankees, Astros, Phillies, Braves and the rest of baseball’s upper echelon. There is plenty of work left to do with the rotation, at first base and in the bullpen. You can be assured that while Soto was priority No. 1 for the front office and ownership, David Stearns and his quarter-zip suited colleagues are moving on to what’s next, whether that’s a reunion with guys like Pete Alonso and Sean Manaea or remaining free agents Jack Flaherty and Corbin Burnes, to name a few.
At the moment, soak this one in. A MVP candidate in the middle of his prime, the baseball world as his oyster, decided to sign his professional career over to the Mets. The team forged from the devastating departures of the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants, right down to the color scheme and logo, is no longer the franchise of cast-offs, has-beens, the past-their-time-stars. It is a destination, a place that top talents want to go to and be a part of.
The Mets have reached the mountaintop before and one signing could never possibly compare to the elation and joy that would result from the third title in franchise history. With that said, this seismic change in not only how the Mets operate as a team but also in how they are viewed by other teams, players and agents, cannot be overstated. Steve Cohen said he wanted the Mets to be Dodgers East. He got his wish.
Yankee fans — and supporters of other less well-appropriated teams — may cry foul at the sheer financial might it took for the Mets to pry Soto from the Bronx and convince him to go to Queens. Mets fans who suffered through the tyranny of M. Donald Grant’s control of the club in the 1970s, which led to Tom Seaver’s departure in the Midnight Massacre, and the wretched tenure of the Wilpon family in recent years, remember all too well how cheap ownership can hamstring a team and make sustained success seem unattainable.
In the dark ages of this franchise, all seemed lost because the one immutable constant of sports teams is ownership. Managers and coaches can be fired and players can be released or traded. Owners can stay around for as long as they’d like.
Cohen’s purchase of the Mets four short years ago felt like a gift from the heavens above, even before they won anything under him. All he has done since is follow through on his promises to do what it takes to build a successful franchise. He is now just one step away from cementing his legacy as this team’s savior.
Money may in fact be the root of all evil but it is also an incredible weapon when used properly. Look at what the Dodgers did mere months after signing Shohei Ohtani to what was then the biggest total-money contract in baseball history. The Mets are hoping their Soto deal — which dwarfed that of Ohtani — can provide the same cause for celebration next November. The Canyon of Heroes is beckoning.
Nothing in life is guaranteed, not even when you have the deepest pockets and are willing to spend as much as is necessary. There is a long road ahead for this team to achieve its ultimate goal. Still, this day is one to cherish and enjoy. The games will come soon enough and with them the expectations (rightly) placed on a team that officially has a championship-or-bust mentality and will throughout Soto’s time in Flushing.
For right now, the Mets are the king of the hill, the top of the heap. They’re number one in the city that never sleeps. Juan Soto wants to be a part of it and, frankly, why wouldn’t he? These aren’t your grandfather’s or your father’s Mets anymore. They’re something new and they’re something spectacular. Start spreading the news.