Mets waste no time with key Juan Soto move as sweepstakes vs. Yankees begin

The New York Mets are not wasting any time in making their intentions with free agent outfielder Juan Soto clear.
Mets owner Steve Cohen will meet with Soto and agent Scott Boras next week in California, according to a Thursday report in The New York Post, which cited industry sources, in a move that the Post says shows the Mets are eyeing Soto as a “priority” this winter.
And thus commences the sweepstakes to sign Soto to what could be a contract approaching 15 years and $700 million. Many around baseball have speculated that Soto would sign at the winter meetings that take place Dec. 9-12, which may seem early at first glance. The thought is that Soto suitors will want to know what he decides before moving on to secondary plans and players, many of whom Boras also calls his clients.
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The Mets, who have dropped $90 million in salary this offseason, are expected to be joined by the New York Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Dodgers, among others, in pursuing Soto, who hit a career-high 41 home runs in the regular season, with a 178 OPS+, the second-highest of his career.
The Yankees are “standing by” to meet with Soto whenever he wishes, general manager Brian Cashman said at the GM meetings this week.
“We certainly have an interest in retaining him and we’ll put our best foot forward there,” Cashman said. “But at the same time, that’ll either lead to us retaining him and signing him or we’ll be forced to go to a different direction if we can’t.”
NJ Advance Media’s Randy Miller contributed to this report
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