At long last, the Mets and owner Steve Cohen met with free agent Juan Soto and his agent Scott Boras in California on Saturday, according to a report from Jon Heyman of the New York Post.
The meeting, led by Cohen as well as a contingent of high-ranking Mets officials, is reported to have been “very detailed” and went “extremely well” as the Mets begin to make their case to sign the outfielder.
With Cohen’s backing and a flexible payroll, New York not only has the resources to make the top offer to Soto, but the ambition as well which is why they are viewed as one of the favorites to land the superstar who will almost certainly command a deal that will make him the highest paid position player in baseball history.
If projections are any indication, Soto’s contract could be anywhere from 12-13 years for somewhere along the lines of $600 million and perhaps more.
That’s why the Mets’ presentation was reportedly a “big production” that is sure to have taken a lot of work and further proves their commitment to trying to sign Soto.
New York’s meeting with Soto comes a day after ownership from the Boston Red Sox and Toronto Blue Jays held “productive” meetings with the perennial All-Star in which they also had “impressive in-person presentations”, per Heyman.
The Mets are one of at least seven known teams who have expressed interest in Soto, with there reportedly being four “mystery teams” as well.
Still just 26 years old and hitting free agency for the first time in his career, Soto is coming off another spectacular season — his first with the Yankees who also view him as a top priority — where he slashed .288/.419/.569 with 41 home runs and 109 RBI.