@thenorthstarofninja Yes, it is.

Soto’s bWAR since he started playing is nowhere near what the few best players in the game have had in their best consecutive 7-year periods. He is Goldschmidt, Arenado (with three 7-year stretches better than Soto’s 7-year career so far), Machado, Lindor, Marcus Semien, Freeman, Chapman or Votto, not Betts, Judge, Ohtani or Trout – and no one ever thought the first eight were supposed to break the existing salary record or be paid out, as it turned out, Ohtani was paid out.  

Matt Chapman added 35.2 bWAR to Soto’s 36.4 bWAR from 2018-2024. Matt Chapman.

Or take Soto’s first three seasons, pro-rated over three full seasons – he’s still outpaced in bWAR by Andres Giminez’s first three full seasons. It will be a huge financial outlay for the GM to completely disregard these two skills and ignore the player as a whole

Soto is obviously a great two-tool player, but he also has the skills of old players, is slow, not a good baserunner, a poor fielder at one of the easier positions to fill and is headed for the DH slot. This strictly limits what his best years will look like, as evidenced by the fact that two-thirds of his six full seasons so far have been limited to 5 WAR. Soto is much more Miguel Cabrera (just not quite as good), himself a three-tool player who retired after his age-33 season, than one of the game’s authentic handful of half-dozen superstars.  

Bobby Witt Jr. has already beaten Soto’s best year by WAR in his first six full seasons, going 9.4 to 7.9. The same goes for Gunnar Henderson, 9.1-7.9 in just two full seasons, and in those two seasons, GH has already amassed 42% of the value that Soto has created over the course of his career so far, 2018-2024. This just goes to show that while Soto is great as a two-tool player, his value is limited by the fact that he only has those tools and underperforms everywhere.

Soto is a great player who should be paid like the first eight players in count one, not like the best player in baseball – and it’s not particularly close.

Just for fun, non-HOFers (although some will join in):

– Soto, 36.4 bWAR 2018-2024

= Chase Utley 49.3, 2005-2011
= Bobby Grich 39.9, 1972-1978
= Kenny Lofton 41.9, 1992-1998
= Keith Hernandez 39.9 WAR 1979-1985
= Jim Edmonds, 37.7 2000-2006

= John Olerud 33.7, 1996-2002
= Abreu 41.6, 1998-2004
= Carlos Correa 34.6, 2016-2022
= Ian Kinsler 34.1, 2009-2015
= Bernie Williams 37.0 1995-2001

= Will Clark 32.9 1988-1994
= Palmeiro 35.5 1993-1999
= Matt Holiday 33.5, 2007-2013
= Carlos Beltran 40.5, 2002-2008
= Billy Willians 36.5, 1962-1968

= Adrian Gonzalez 34.6, 2009-2015
= Brett Butler 32.7, 1986-1992
= Andruw 42.2, 1998-2004; 41.5, 1999-2005; 2000-2006, 40.0
= Jose Altuve 35.1, 2013-2019
= Dale Murphy, 37.2, 1982-1988