It finally happened. The baseball world ground to a halt on Sunday night after superstar free agent Juan Soto made his decision. His record-setting contract with the New York Mets is not only mind-boggling, but it puts the pressure squarely on the Philadelphia Phillies front office after they failed to take advantage of their unique advantage.
Signed for $765 million (no, that's not a typo), Soto is inked with the Mets for the next 15 years. Now 26, he'll be a thorn in the sides of the Phillies and the NL East until he's 41, in theory.
BREAKING: Superstar outfielder Juan Soto and the New York Mets are in agreement on a 15-year, $765 million contract, sources tell ESPN. It is the largest deal in professional sports history.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 9, 2024
The Phillies, while not involved in the pursuit this offseason, had to at least be hoping he stuck with the New York Yankees or at least stayed in the AL East, with the Boston Red Sox and Toronto Blue Jays also vying for his services. Unfortunately, he's back in the Phillies' division. It's his second foray after spending the first four and half seasons of his career with the Washington Nationals.
Phillies face immense pressure to do something big this offseason after failure to leverage unique Juan Soto advantages
Early in the offseason, the Phillies were rumored to be one of the teams chasing this year's big free agent. As time passed, we learned that they really weren't all that interested in getting into a bidding war for Soto, despite his ability to single-handedly change the fortunes of a franchise. Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski and this staff failed to even meet with Soto's camp, let alone make an offer.
It was a strange tactic for a Phillies team that has made efforts to join the big boys of the sport, both on the financial ledger and on the field in recent years. It was made all the more confusing because the Phillies appeared to have an angle that other suitors couldn't offer: the former Nationals connection.
The Phillies boast three of Soto's former teammates from his Nationals days: Bryce Harper, Trea Turner and Kyle Schwarber. They also employ Soto's former hitting coach Kevin Long, who he reportedly has a good rapport with and keeps in touch with.
It's time for Phillies do more than just 'tweak' this roster
After seeing the final result of the bidding war skyrocket to the richest contract in sports history, Phillies' owners probably breathed a sigh of relief. However, the apathy shown toward a player of Soto's caliber just puts more pressure on the front office to do something, anything, big this winter.
This is even more true since Soto's now with the hated Mets. The rivalry that was revived this past season will grow even bigger in the coming years as Mets owner Steve Cohen opens his wallet to make his team a contender.
Phillies fans are clamoring for a shakeup to propel this team back into the top contenders pool. A tweak here and there, as Dombrowski spoke about last week, just isn't going to cut it. Fans, who aren't footing the bill, want to see this team back in the World Series at any cost.
"We’re talking to people. But we have a good club," Dombrowski said about the idea of making big roster changes, per MLB.com's Todd Zolecki. "If we take the same club back that we had last year and we make a tweak here and a tweak there, I think we’ll compete to win the division and be in a position where we’ll be definite postseason contenders.”
With Soto now calling Citi Field home, Phillies fans will need to see more than a tweak here and tweak there to feel happy about this offseason. The front office now has two months to avoid wasting this offseason.