Phillies deal with 15-year-old Juan Soto, Met originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

DALLAS – The Phillies had to deal with the fact that the Mets ended their season two months ago. Now they have to deal with Juan Soto for the next 15 years.

Soto, agent Scott Boras and the Mets opened the MLB winter meetings by agreeing to a 15-year, $765 million contract that, with or without a deferment, will make Soto by far the highest-paid player in professional sports history.

Mets owner Steve Cohen is worth more than $20 billion and has spent lavishly since purchasing the team in 2020. All along, it was expected that the Mets would not be outbid for Soto, a transcendent 26-year-old superstar and future Hall of Famer. The Yankees were desperate to keep him, the Red Sox and Blue Jays were desperate to sign him, but would anyone seriously beat Cohen’s top offer?

According to various reports from ESPN, The Athletic and the New York Post, Soto’s contract does not include deferrals, can increase up to $800 million with incentives and includes an opt-out after the 2029 season that can be voided if the Mets one such add an additional $40 million for the final 10 years of his contract. If that happens, it would be a 15-year, $805 million deal.

Just absolutely stupid money. Baseball jumped the $500 and $600 million range in the last two offseasons, when Shohei Ohtani signed for $700 million over 10 years with high deferments and now Soto for $765 million. Prior to these two contracts, Mike Trout had the largest contract of all time at 12 years and $426.5 million.

Soto’s annual salary is $51 million – more than double Bryce Harper’s $25.38 million. Harper’s contract (13 years, $330 million) was his richest ever when he signed it in February 2019, but even then his priorities were different. If Harper wanted to squeeze every last dollar, he wouldn’t have chosen not to have opt-outs. Think about what Harper would have offered on the open market in recent offseasons.

That doesn’t change Soto’s decision. He earned the right to choose from a handful of crazy offers. And his teammates are probably grateful to see him make a difference contractually, even if deals like this will ever be for the top 0.001% of players.

The Phillies planned to meet with Soto but never got around to it, likely because they quickly realized how the bidding would spiral out of control. A team offering even $500 million would have been a waste of time.

The Mets will be a formidable team with Soto, even if the lineup isn’t unbeatable. As of now, that would include Francisco Lindor, Soto, Mark Vientos, Brandon Nimmo, Starling Marte, Jeff McNeil, Tyrone Taylor, Francisco Alvarez and Brett Baty. It would have a much deeper impact if they also re-signed Pete Alonso and kept Vientos at third base.

Their rotation currently consists of Kodai Senga, Frankie Montas, David Peterson, Clay Holmes and Paul Blackburn. Additions will be made, but it’s not like this will be a surefire 100-win team just because of Soto.

Still, it’s a huge move that intensifies the three-team NL East race and contributes to the Mets’ role as second fiddle to the Yankees for so many years.

The free agent market is likely to move faster now. Soto was in a class of his own, but the teams that missed out on him will turn to other options and spending. Alex Bregman is now the best position player available alongside Alonso and outfielders Teoscar Hernandez and Anthony Santander. Corbin Burnes, Max Fried, Jack Flaherty and Sean Manaea are the top free agent pitchers.

The Phillies’ top priority is improving the offense. The most obvious place to upgrade is center field, but they also need a platoon partner for Brandon Marsh, at least one late-inning reliever, and starting pitching depth. They won’t make a splash like the Mets, but a lot can be accomplished this week at the Hilton Anatole, where decision-makers from all 30 teams are on hand to discuss deals.