As the Philadelphia Phillies look to make their move in free agency this offseason, Juan Soto still remains the talk of the town in the baseball world. Like it or not, the Phillies should still make at least a valiant attempt to sign him because superstars like Soto being available in the free agent market don’t come around that often (of course, with the exception of Shohei Ohtani last offseason).
But more importantly, the Phillies’ division rival New York Mets appear to be making a big move ahead of a potential huge pitch to secure Soto’s services. The fact that the Mets are gearing themselves up to make the big splash is terrifying for both the Phillies and their fanbase. It is one thing to miss out on an elite superstar, but the last thing you want is for them to land in your division, leading to a reign of terror for years to come.
Phillies’ division rival making big moves to secure Juan Soto is terrifying
As part of the big push, Mike Puma of the New York Post reported that Mets’ owner Steve Cohen is planning to fly to California in the coming week to meet up with Soto and his agent Scott Boras. It is believed that New York would be one of the first teams to approach the duo in the process to officially get things underway.
On top of that, MLB insider Jon Heyman recently suggested on Bleacher Report Walk-Off that the Mets are ready to make some big-time spending this offseason. In addition to Soto, they could even re-sign slugging first baseman Pete Alonso, along with going after a starting pitcher with Luis Severino and Sean Manaea still in play.
Nevertheless, just the thought of having Soto and Alonso together could bring back frightful memories of the legendary Bash Brothers in Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire when they were with the Oakland Athletics. That in itself would be an absolute nightmare for the Phillies.
Don’t forget that this is the same Mets team that dispatched Philadelphia from the playoffs this past season. The fact that Cohen and the Mets are committed to winning and are becoming proactive spenders to further bolster the team’s chances going forward has just made the NL East that much tougher. The Phillies faithful should be quite worried, as they don’t appear to have any set plan as of this moment, leaving them just one step behind everyone else.
But whatever ends up happening, this should serve as a wake-up call to the Phillies that if they don’t get into the action soon and be aggressive in doing so, others could eventually catch up, leaving Philadelphia in the dust.