The Mets' projected lineup with Juan Soto is great, but NY still has a lot of work to do

With the signing of Juan Soto to a norm-breaking, record-breaking $765 million contract, the New York Mets have their Corona King. And now a coronation certainly awaits.

Right?

Well, not so fast. The Mets got immeasurably better and likely bought more than a decade of elite production by signing the 26-year-old superstar to the largest contract in sports history.

Still, it’s true: You can’t buy a championship, be it the World Series or a simpler, more modest National League East championship flag that might fly at Citi Field.

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The Mets haven’t finished first since 2015 and have won the division just twice in 36 years, and on paper they would be off to a modest start, even if they parlayed a perilous 89-win season into a trip to the NL Championship Series in October.

No, a foundation still needs to be laid, infrastructure built and a sustainable model created. However, in signing Soto, owner Steve Cohen has given strict instructions to club president David Stearns: build the plane as he lands it.

World Series Champions? Probably one day, perhaps in 2025, more likely a good while later. But Soto has time: The Mets can buy out his release clause in 2029, meaning the 15-year countdown can begin starting March 27, when Soto makes his Mets debut at Daikin Park in Houston.

What is Soto, a four-time All-Star and third-place AL MVP finisher, getting himself into? Let’s explore:

It’s the shortstop’s squad

The Yankees loved Soto and two-time MVP Aaron Judge seemed to quickly develop a friendship with his slugger. Funny how batting behind the greatest left-handed hitter of the era can endear that guy to his friends.

Across town, the Mets have their own MVP runner-up and his name is Francisco Lindor. While Soto may be the biggest asset in Cohen’s portfolio, Lindor was the star cow, acquired by Cleveland and quickly signed to a $341 million contract extension.

And my goodness, was it worth it?

After a year of adjustment, Lindor has become a machine, producing seasons of 5.6, 6.0 and 6.9 WAR, 30-homer pop and Silver Slugger production from shortstop. While young slugger Pete Alonso preceded Lindor’s arrival in Queens, Alonso is a free agent who may be viewed as expendable with Soto on board.

So this is Lindor’s team for now. And it will be fascinating to watch the Lindor-Soto dynamic develop. Both are four-time All-Stars and very well decorated: Soto a World Series champion and five-time Silver Slugger, Lindor a four-time Silver Slugger and Platinum Glove winner who nearly brought Cleveland to its first championship since 1948.

Both are tenacious competitors with enough charisma to light up two or three districts and should make beautiful music together at the top of the Mets lineup. It will be difficult to match the Judge Soto energy across the city; There’s something about left-right hitters hitting back-to-back and combining for 99 home runs that’s hard to replicate.

Lindor-Soto will be different. When it comes to health, it should be incredible.

A superstar blossoming?

These OMG 89-win Mets seemed to be equal parts whimsy and weirdness, with a singing second baseman, playoff pumpkins and pitchers paying tribute to each other with black eyes.

But aside from winning a world championship, there wasn’t much that could top Mark Vientos’ development last year.

Thanks in part to minor league pep talks from Jose Iglesias, Vientos, who turns 25 on Wednesday, returned to the majors in June and stayed there forever, improving his defense at third base and hitting 27 home runs in 111 games .

In the playoffs? He defeated the rival Philadelphia Phillies and had nine hits in 16 at-bats, including two doubles and two home runs. He then blasted the eventual champion Dodgers for three home runs, including a grand slam, extending the season to six games, one more than the Yankees had in the World Series.

Soto’s arrival here seems very coincidental.

Vientos debuted in 2022 and took a minute to fully launch. With the most significant addition in club history on board, the Vientos can travel to Port St. Lucie in February with less fanfare and pressure. He can grow organically – oh, and hit in front of or behind the great Soto.

Pretty good break for the kid.

Projected Mets lineup

Manager Carlos Mendoza can play this in many ways, and the script for 2025 isn’t written yet. Will Alonso return? This is a crucial question, but let’s put the ball where it lies since the offseason is only now truly beginning:

Francisco Lindor, SS
Juan Soto, RF
Mark Vientos, 1B
Brandon Nimmo, LF
Starling Marte, DH
Jeff McNeil, 2B
Tyrone Taylor, CF
Francisco Alvarez, C
Brett Baty, 3B

A lot can and will happen now. A reunion with Iglesias seems to be a possibility. The club may want to consider a larger role for Luisangel Acuña, who filled in well for Lindor in September. Jose Siri is in the outfield mix.

The top of the lineup is elite. But the health and production concerns don’t even begin halfway through, and Stearns will need to increase depth significantly over the winter.

Oh, and Alonso would be nice. Steve?

A sustainable Death Star

The Stearns-Cohen dynamic has always been fascinating, as the new baseball operations manager made his career in Milwaukee, where the budget is as tight as the brats are fat. How would the highly efficient baseball manager and the man with a net worth of $20 billion reconcile their goals?

So far so good.

Certainly no one believed that Stearns would convince Cohen that the Soto spending was “unsustainable.” Hell, it’s always up to the owner.

But Stearns’ MO begins to come into focus.

So far, for the second year in a row, he has opted for a plug-and-play tactic to build a starting rotation – forgoing big bucks and going for wins. That worked remarkably well last year for Sean Manaea, Jose Quintana and Luis Severino, all of whom will be much richer thanks to their performances in Queens.

This year it’s similar: Frankie Montas has signed a two-year contract. Yankees reliever Clay Holmes hopes to become the next Seth Lugo. We are betting on a recovery of Kodai Senga’s health.

Sure, Cohen could have a big free-agent pitcher up his sleeve, although that market will be crowded. But it makes a lot of sense to join the Brewers East on the mound and put resources into the lineup and bullpen.

There is still a lot to do in all three phases. Additionally, the Mets’ almost consistently mediocre player development department needs to be overhauled, which will be a challenge if draft decisions are lost to free agent signings and success leads to lower draft picks.

Everything at the right time. For now, the bones of an 89-win team just added a Hall of Fame slugger in its prime. Juan Soto, this is the Mets. You’ll probably get along well.

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The Mets’ projected lineup with Juan Soto is great, but NY still has a lot of work to do

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