And apparently he’s compensated pretty well. Who knew?

But we are not here to discuss the contractual parameters and the question of where Soto is among the richest athletes in the world, or the gross domestic product of small countries. We’re more interested in what his bat means for the Mets and baseball in general.

Soto finished third in the 2024 American League MVP voting and will now be paired with Francisco Lindor, the Mets’ great shortstop who finished second in the National League MVP voting. That’s a pretty good duo, isn’t it? But is it the best lineup duo in MLB heading into 2025?

I’m really sorry everyone for the deke. But just because Lindor/Soto is the fresh, hot dish out of the oven doesn’t mean we’ve forgotten about these two. As you may have heard, Ohtani hit 54 home runs and 59 steals last season. He had an OPS+ of 190 to Soto’s 178, while Betts’ 145 mark was slightly better than Lindor’s 138, albeit in 36 fewer games.

One can argue with this ranking (and many will!) because obviously Ohtani won’t be nearly as dynamic on the basepaths when he returns to the mound and Betts is 32 years old. It’s a valid argument. But in his final season as a two-way player, Ohtani’s 1.066 OPS was higher than Soto had ever had in a full season, Betts had more elite offensive seasons than Lindor, and the Ohtani/Betts duo is backed up by another future Hall of Famer hitting with Freddie Freeman right behind them (ensuring there are plenty of shots to hit). So something tells us they’ll continue to do well…

We’ll list them in this order because it allows Carlos Mendoza to list them at the top of his new-look lineup. Pretty cool, right?

Lindor’s move to the leadership position unlocked his offense in a way we hadn’t really seen since his 24-year-old season in Cleveland. He had 73 extra-base hits and his highest on-base percentage (.344) during his time with the Mets. There’s no reason he can’t do it again. Soto’s arrival could remind Lindor that he fought alongside another gifted, disciplined player back in José Ramírez, and that can continue to give him the best. And while it remains to be seen whether the Mets will bring back Pete Alonso, they have some success in Mark Vientos, who has the ability to take advantage of all the traffic Lindor and Soto will generate. Again, it wouldn’t be a “prisoner situation” to place this duo at No. 1.

We don’t mean to disrespect Jose Altuve by not including him here, but the fact is that Tucker and Alvarez are both entering their age-28 seasons and are therefore in the middle of their primes.

Unfortunately, Tucker lost much of his 2024 season to a broken tibia, but that only made his .289/.408/.585 batting average and 23 home runs in 78 games even more impressive. He has MVP-caliber skills… and plenty of motivation heading into his free-agent walk year. And Alvarez is a patient hitter who just brutalizes baseballs. His slugging percentages over the past three seasons: .613, .583, .567. The only other qualified hitter with such high batting marks in each of those years was Aaron Judge. The Astros could lose Alex Bregman to free agency, but they’re still in the top third of their rankings.

Although Kyle Schwarber might as well be listed here after his second straight season with over 100 walks and his third straight season with at least 38 bombs, Turner and Harper are the dynamic centers of this entertaining Phillies lineup, although they both have chasing tendencies, which may prove to be contagious.

In his second season in Philly, Turner needed no adjustment period or pep talk that led to a Netflix documentary. He had a strong .295/.338/.469 slash line and an OPS+ (124) that matched the walk year with the Dodgers in 2022 that earned him his mammoth Phillies payday. If there was any cause for concern, it was the decline in his stolen base activity, as the 31-year-old Turner stole 19 sacks in 23 attempts – a far different performance from his 30-for-30 effort a year ago. Meanwhile, Harper is Harper, chugging along to Cooperstown. He had another 30 homers and 42 doubles this year. Ho hmm.

As with Altuve, no disrespect is intended toward Manny Machado. But it’s kind of hard not to get distracted by what’s going on in the San Diego outfield, where the Padres have two magnetic players in their 20s.

Tatis has put the scourge of suspension (and a position change) behind him by starting to look like the player he was meant to be. Although he missed about two months this year due to injury, his .276/.340/.492 slash, 21 home runs and 21 doubles in 102 games were encouraging signs, and more significantly, he hit in his final 70 games of the regular season. 520 and then he scorched the ball while going 11 for 26 with seven extra-base hits in October. He is 25 years old and seems ready to go. Then there’s Merrill, a runner-up for Rookie of the Year who was incredibly nimble and polished in compiling a .292/.326/.500 slash with 24 homers, 31 doubles, six triples and 16 steals. Maybe he has a slump in his second year. Perhaps Machado, still a dynamic player at 32, should be listed here instead. But Merrill and Tatis have transcendent abilities.

Where is Ronald Acuna Jr.? Well, he’s recovering from another major knee surgery and isn’t expected back until Opening Day. So let’s see when and at what level he comes back before we start including him in any top 10 lists. Staying at the top level with two surgically repaired ACL tears is no easy task.

Right now, Ozuna and Olson are actually the back-to-back pairing at the heart of the Braves order — and a productive one at that. Ozuna has now had consecutive seasons with at least 39 home runs and 29 doubles, an OPS over .900 and an OPS+ of at least 140. Olson has taken a big step back this year after hitting 54 home runs and 139 RBIs in his 2023 season, but still ranks 17th in MLB with 67 extra-base hits. A return of Olson to MVP-caliber — or, yes, a return to Acuña’s form — would place the Braves much higher on this list.

We would rank this duo higher ifrutschman’s production didn’t decline so much in the final three months of 2024 (.564 OPS from July to September). Catching can definitely beat up a guy. For all we know, we might be more inclined to list Jackson Holliday alongside Henderson at the end of the season. And of course, the Orioles have many exciting young players, including 2024 All-Star Jordan Westburg, Rookie of the Year finalist Colton Cowser and junior Heston Kjerstad.

What we know for sure is that Henderson is the anchor of this conversation, having slashed .281/.364/.529 with 37 home runs, 31 doubles and seven triples in a shortstop season that received much more attention without Bobby Witt Jr. was in Kansas City.

Did you know that Carroll finished 2024 with an OPS+ above league average (7% better, to be exact)? That seems crazy given his puzzlingly difficult start to his second season after a rousing Rookie of the Year run in 2023 (.285/.362/.506 slash, 25 homers, 30 doubles, 10 triples and 54 steals). .

But Carroll was completely out of control after the All-Star break, with a .919 OPS, 17 home runs and 17 steals. That means a repeat of his rookie year is within reach. And when you combine that with what Marte, a 2024 MVP runner-up (.932 OPS, 36 home runs and 23 doubles), can do, it’s a truly dynamic one-two punch at the top of the Arizona order.

There is no way around it. Judge was heavily downvoted in every duo discussion. Judge and Soto were the modern-day Maris and Mantle or Ruth and Gehrig or Keeler and Conroy (that’s for you old-fashioned New York Highlanders fans). This production will be difficult to replace.

But Stanton is coming off his first 25-homer, 20-double season since 2018 and had another mammoth success in October (seven homers in 14 games). So he can still be a valid candidate for reigning AL MVP if his health cooperates (although that has rarely been the case for Stanton in recent years as he suffered from bottom-half issues, hence these rankings). However, there is no doubt that the Yankees will now be looking for left-handed help to give Judge the support he deserves.

We’re not going to throw this pair to the curb just because Semien had a down year, with his worst OPS (.699) in a full season since 2014, and because Seager once again struggled with injuries. At least Seager remained a force even when healthy, posting a 145 OPS+ in 123 games. And Semien may have just been dealing with the implications of setting a new record for plate appearances in a calendar year (regular and postseason) with 835 in 2023.

But with Semien starting his season at age 34, this duo’s lead at one spot could be tenuous. And indeed, Wyatt Langford may soon be poised to become Seager’s right-hand man.

Despite Guerrero’s return to MVP-caliber in 2024, it’s hard to justify placing him and Bo in the top 10 after Bichette hit a pitiful .225/.277/.322 in 81 games. But they are both extremely talented and, more importantly, they are both about to become free agents, which as we know has helped many players excel in the past.