The 2024 Major League Baseball Winter Meetings are just days away. The anticipation of negotiations and rumors may come full circle with teams' hopes of signing their ideal free agent. It is always a time for excitement and possibly a domino effect of signings after the biggest player on the board goes, outfield superstar Juan Soto.
Soto is just 26, and with seven MLB seasons of experience, he brings a unique and undeniable versatility to any franchise. Soto has a career .285/.421/.532 slash line with a .953 OPS and is a definite World Series tilt that New York Mets' owner Steve Cohen knows very well (subscription required), per Jim Bowden of The Athletic. With World Series odds out, the Philadelphia Phillies are in danger of losing some ground if Soto ends up in Queens.
Phillies' 2025 World Series odds could take a hit if the Mets sign Juan Soto
World Series predictions are never too early for baseball fans. The season has only been over for a month-plus, but with substantial moves approaching, it'll give the Phillies an even clearer picture of where they'll stand heading into spring. If the Mets sign Soto, their odds to win the World Series could drop behind New York.
The reigning World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers (+340) unsurprisingly sit atop BetMGM's World Series winning odds with the Atlanta Braves (+800) and New York Yankees (+800) right behind. The Phillies (+1100) have the fourth-best odds, with the Mets (+1200) barely tailing Philadelphia.
Who will win the 2025 World Series?
— MLB (@MLB) December 5, 2024
Odds via @BetMGM pic.twitter.com/oFnQphrrcl
The Phillies have stayed relatively silent so far this winter while the hungry Mets have made a flurry of moves in hopes of topping the Phillies this coming season. Predictions are saying Soto could make his decision around the Winter Meetings and that could put the Phillies' slim odds in jeopardy. Not only could they fall one more spot in World Series winning odds they would also have another roadblock in their way to repeat as division champions.
Cohen is determined to thrust the Mets into an ultimate NL powerhouse. Not much could get in his way with the amount of money and passion he has for winning. If the Mets pair shortstop Francisco Lindor with a player of Soto's caliber, that's a bump in stardom similar to Bryce Harper, per Corey Seidman of NBC Sports Philadelphia.
The Phillies flirted with the idea of Soto at the beginning, but if their division rival puts their money where their mouth is, there's no sitting idly by anymore. Fans are clamoring for a shakeup and a reason to believe this coming season will be different for the Phillies. They have to tip the scales back in their favor and prove there is more than one way to win the offseason.