The Mets had to sign Juan Soto to be the face of the franchise and Steve Cohen delivered. The Yankees have Aaron Judge. The Mets have to have “star power” to be relevant in NYC. Steve Cohen delivered… boy did he! MLBTR said it this way:
MLB contract records were shattered Sunday evening, as the Mets reached an agreement on a stunning 15-year, $765MM deal with free agent superstar Juan Soto, according to a report from The New York Post’s Jon Heyman. Per ESPN’s Jeff Passan, the deal contains no deferred money and includes escalators that can push the contract beyond $800MM. The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reports that the deal includes a whopping $75MM signing bonus, while Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports that Soto’s deal contains an opt-out after his age-30 2029 season. Jorge Castillo of ESPN notes that the Mets will have the opportunity to void that opt-out by adding an additional $4MM per year to the final ten years of his deal, which would allow the deal to max out at $805MM over 15 years.
Brokered by the Boras Corporation, Soto’s deal is the largest contract in the history of professional sports, blowing away not only the $461MM net present value of the deal Shohei Ohtani landed with the Dodgers last winter but even the $700MM sticker price Ohtani signed for before accounting for that deal’s record-breaking deferrals. Soto’s $51MM average annual value eclipses the record for MLB players, which was previously held by Ohtani, by a significant margin as well.
Soto is the game’s first true $500MM player, $600MM player, $700MM player, and $50MM player, all in one epic contract. The deal calls to mind Boras’ deal ten-year, $252MM contract with the Rangers for Alex Rodriguez 24 years ago, announced at the Winter Meetings at the same Anatole Hotel in Dallas this one figures to be.
The Mets weren’t the only team willing to go to record-setting lengths to land Soto, as Heyman reports the Yankees’ final bid for the slugger clocked in at $760MM over 16 years. MassLive’s Sean McAdam, meanwhile, reports that the Red Sox offered Soto $700MM over 15 years. Each of those deals would have shattered all expectations entering the offseason; MLBTR predicted a 13 year, $600MM contract for Soto as part of our annual Top 50 MLB Free Agents list.
— Tim Dierks & Nick Needs, MLBTR
All, I can say is WOW!
The Dodgers signed Michael Comforto to a one-year/$17 Million Dollar deal and Blake Treinen to a 2-year/$22 Million deal. Blake has been underpaid and is part of the fabric of the Dodgers. $22 Million is an overpay for a 37-year-old reliever… but it’s also a “Thank You Gift!”
Michael Comforto will platoon in RF with Andy Pages. A LH Batter, Comforto has OPS’ed .838 against RHP for his career. Andy Pages OPS’ed .917 against LHP, so that could be a platoon made in Heaven. now, if the Dodgers can sign Teoscar, they will be done, but the yankees will drive up that price… we shall see!
This week at the Winter Meetings should be interesting!
Somebody posted yesterday and then deleted it that they would rather have Soto than Ohtni as Ohtani has holes in his swing. I happen to agree with that, but I’m glad we have Ohtani!
X-CITES
Hall of Fame
Dick Allen and Dave Parker were elected to the Hall-of-Fame by the “Era Committee.” It’s unfortunate that Dick Allen is no longer alive, but I am happy for both of them. Tommy John and Steve Garvey also got votes… but not enough!
I am so glad the Dodgers weren’t stupid enough to pay Soto that ridiculous amount of money,Soto is NOT half the player Ohtoni is. Cohen will regret this move, As I predicted last year he would be wearing a Met uniform in 2025.Bring on the Mets!!!!
I was just gonna say. When it comes to big free agent signing, you seem to predict them with regulatory. Hmmm.
Nice job.
Book em
Yikes!!!’ Not half the player Ohtani is’!!! You may not like him, but still…..
Treinen coming back is AWESOME.
Good dude, great clubhouse guy, great guy in the Pen. And he is nails when it counts.
Also I have a Treinen jersey and wanted to wear it to opening day, now I will!!
One of my favorite Dodgers.
Now go re-sign WB.
Dawg
Dodgers, Teoscar Hernández Reportedly Facing Gap In Negotiations
“The Dodgers and outfielder Teoscar Hernández have interest in a reunion after a successful season together but no deal has come together yet. Alden González of ESPN reports that the two sides have been negotiating for weeks but have been “unable to bridge the gap.”
I read Dodgers are only offering 2 years .we are throwing money at others but lowballing Teo..He could say well I tried,but they just really didn’t want me very much.
Yeah, I think it’s more likely than not that Teo gets a better offer from elsewhere.
“Right-hander Roki Sasaki has been officially posted by the Chiba Lotte Marines of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball, per Jon Morosi of MLB Network (X link) and Mark Feinsand of MLB.com (X link). That opens a 45-day window for Sasaki and his representatives to talk to MLB clubs, meaning he will need to have a deal in place by January 23 or else he will return to the Marines.
Since Sasaki is under 25 years old, having just turned 23, he is considered an amateur under MLB rules. As such, he must be signed as part of the international bonus pool system. The 2024 international signing period ends on December 15 and the 2025 period starts on January 15. All reporting has suggested that Sasaki will wait to sign until the new period starts up and each club gets a fresh pool of spending money, so he seems destined to sign somewhere between January 15 and 23rd, though the talks can now officially begin”.
I read several negative comments about the Dodgers for signing Conforto for so much money, I personally think it’s fine.
I see Zaidi’s hand in all this contract stuff.
Zaidi is not employed by the Dodgers… yet!
Oops, I was wrong, I thought he was already a member of the office.
The Dodgers took Snell and Conforto from the Giants. Farhan may follow soon.
I feel like the Conforto signing was to replace Jason Heywards spot from last years roster and hopefully they will still sign Teo. Maybe they have a trade up their sleeve to bring in Roberts Jr or a corner outfielder. Stay tuned. Nice to see Treinen back
What is good for the Dodgers is not good for Teoscar and vice versa what is good for Teo is not good for the Dodgers.
It is not a money problem, the problem is the age and the duration of the contract.
Due to these factors, the best for the Dodges is 2/50 or 3/75, but Teo is, possibly, in the last opportunity to sign his big contract and someone will give him 5/125, or perhaps more, and that team in no way should of being the Dodgers.
I agree with your thoughts here. And since Teo already has a ring now, no one can fault him for taking the money and going elsewhere. I certainly won’t.
But, having said that, I’d love to have him back! (and Walker Buehler obviously)
I don’t see any team giving Teo a 5 year deal.
I expect that he might very well get 4 years and no way I see Andrew going past 3.
If AF decides to overpay for those 3 years, I think Teo will be back. If not, he’ll be in Boston or NY.
Two random thoughts:
1) Sadly, I agree with DodgerHorse on Teo. Yankees or Red Sox will massively overpay after losing out on Soto whereas AF would overpay due to Teo culture fit, but not massively, thus best for Teo to take what will be a significantly better deal elsewhere. He earned it and Dodger fans will be happy for him. He will always have a place in Dodger hearts.
2) The Gavin Lux situation reminds me of another Dodger prospect many years ago who also came up from AAA with great fanfare and had promising early success at the major league level only to struggle to regain form after a significant injury, leading the team consider other options. I hope it turns out better for Lux than it did for Billy Grabarkowitz. back then the Dodgers had a better option with Ron Cey, and now we have a better option with Mookie Betts. Hopefully the Dodgers can trade him for International signing bonus money and Gavin can get a fresh start where he can put up annual .350 plus OBP numbers as many of us felt he could do for us for many years. I wish him well.
What if Betts starts the season in RF and Lux at 2B? That solves, at least at the start of the season, the infield and outfield situation, and at trade dateline, and depending on the situation, move Lux and return Betts to 2B.
Id be perfectly fine with this.
LOL
I think that is a distinct possibility. Lux hot .304 in the second half. His trade value is relatively high right now. So a trade makes sense. Especially considering the best case scenario with Mookie. But if Teo moves on, keeping Lux at 2b and Mookie in RF is hardly a bad option. It depends on Teo and what the trade market has to offer. But the Dodgers have flexibility regardless how the chips fall. And I don’t think they are going to trade Lux on the cheap. After the AS break Lux was one of the better 2bmen in baseball.
I think AF will surprise us with something.
But now, per Roberts, it seems the Dodgers are serious about putting Mookie back at SS.
A lot of us, I think, figured that the SS combo of Edman and Rojas made more sense, with Mookie taking over 2B. But this time, Mookie would have the full off-season and Spring to prepare for SS. So maybe this is a good idea…. ???
I’d feel better about it if Lux shows he can hit lefties.
Conforto is a really good addition–especially if Teo takes a big bag from Boston or the Blue Jays. (I’ve joined the pessimists about Teo’s return. Not optimistic about Santander either.)
If Mookie indeed moves to the infield, the OF mix now under contract includes Conforto, Pages, Taylor, Edman and Outman. That list looks more like questions than answers.
If Lux needs a platoon partner, Edman can shuttle between 2B and OF. He did win a gold glove at 2B a few seasons back.
Still hoping that the White Sox would be willing to deal Luis Robert Jr. Dodgers could offer Lux + Rushing + Outman or Pages.
Not going to happen… Betts is the SS. Period!
Excuse the rant. For the life of me I cannot understand the disrespect given to Lux. In the second half he had one of the best averages on the team. He was coming off devastating injury and sit out the year before. I’m far from a scout or an expert on Lux but I know athletics and the impact of injuries from being a long time coach. I know this is very much a minority view but I strongly feel that Betts should stay in right field and Lux play second. Bring the criticism I can take it.
I don’t know what to do about Betts and Lux at second base; but, yeah. Lux had one full year as a valuable major league player. Then it took him several months of facing Major League pitching to return to where he was pre-injury. If we trade him, we better get real value.
It may be unfair, but Lux still suffers from the hype that mostly originated from the front office.
Remember, he was ranked as one of the game’s top prospects. And just two springs back, Lux was supposed to take over SS and Miguel Vargas was slotted for 2B.
Neither of the positions were really up for grabs. Instead of a real competition with a level playing field, there was favoritism because the brass developed so much trust in both players.
This was true even though a lot of us mere fans questioned whether Lux had the arm to be a quality ML shortstop. Then Lux wrecked his knee and was out for the season. And then Vargas, dealing with recovery from an injured hand, failed to hit or field up to expectations, and was sent back to OKC. The new keystone combo collapsed.
Then Lux came back from injury and in spring training basically proved to the (finally) skeptical brass that he really shouldn’t play SS, so he was shifted to 2B and Mookie was pressed into service at SS. Lux also struggled against lefties, so he became a platoon second baseman.
From “franchise SS” to platoon 2B is a pretty big drop.
Along the way, the Dodgers tried to see if Lux could be a UT option–but it was clear that he lacked the arm of guys like Taylor and Kike. (Mark memorably insisted that Lux should take over CF; AF apparently missed that memo.) Anyway, Taylor and Kike are much more versatile–and during the WS Taylor was used as a pinch-runner for Lux. (How much speed did he lose because of the torn ACL?)
None of this is Lux’s fault.
I blame the brass for not recognizing long ago that Lux’s future was at 2B. (Who knows? Perhaps they failed to draft Gunnar Henderson because they had too much faith in Lux.)
Anyway, when I try to optimize the Dodgers’ current lineup, I have Edman and Rojas share SS and put Mookie at 2B. Alas, Lux becomes a bench piece–a lefthanded pinch hitter who, right now, is taking a roster spot that could be occupied by Kike.
But on another team, Lux could still blossom into a star.
For what it’s worth. Dave Roberts just said on MLB network that Mookie Betts will be playing shortstop in 2025.
His words: “…I think right now. Being able to kick Edman back out to centerfield, having Lux there at second base, and then Mookie there, ( as they were showing Mookie shortstop highlights) We feel good about it. Given that Mookie will have an entire off season to prepare, mentally, physically. The entire off season. “
I’m quite surprised. Thought Lux would be trade fodder and Mookie would never see the left side of the infield again. What this means for Outman, Pages, Rushing, Kike and Teo… not sure. I just know that’s a lot of outfielders with Conforto added.
if I were to guess, I think Kike and Outman are probably gone. Teo too if the Bosox or Yankees offer him 4 years.
Interesting. And I’m surprised too.
Will they give Lux a chance to play 2B full-time? Would they put him in a platoon? (Edman won a gold glove at 2B a few seasons back. If Mookie is set for SS, Edman could shuttle between CF and 2B.)
Possible lineup with current personnel against righties:
Shohei DH
Mookie SS
Freddie 1B
Max 3B
Smith C
Conforto LF
Lux 2B
Edman CF
Outman RF
Teoscar would be missed!
Well, playing SS would help Mookie win another MVP…
That’s an option, but Gomes is on the record saying that the plan is to move Mookie to the infield.
Mookie clearly prefers the infield, and he’s shown that he’s better at 2B than SS. The theory is that moving to a less physically demanding position will help him continue to perform at high level as he ages. And SS is much more demanding that 2B–and arguably more demanding than RF.
Another factor to consider: Dodgers could probably get more value for trade chips over the winter than at midseason, when players may be slumping or injured. Lux finished the season strong and could be in the SS mix for some teams.
Plus, if Lux is dealt, the creates an opening to bring back Kike, a much more versatile player.
Another thought just occured to me. Lux’s injury two years back helped Outman’s chances because both bat lefthanded. Now Conforto is here too, batting from the left side.
Actually, per Jack Harris:
Brandon Gomes said at the Winter Meetings today that the Dodgers’ plan is to play Mookie Betts at shortstop next season
That means Tommy Edman will primarily be in center field next year
Astros say they will listen on trades for Kyle Tucker and Framber Valdez, although I imagine they’d have to be pretty blown away to trade either of them.
That said, they really want to bring back Bregman and the experts are saying they can’t afford to sign both Bregman (this year) and Tucker (free agent next winter).
How about a trade suggestion for Tucker (1 year of control remaining). Next year will be his age 28 season.