Superstar outfielder and 26-year-old free agent Juan Soto is the biggest prize yet to be claimed this winter. Wherever he ends up signing will be the franchise's cash cow for years to come. He's a talent few teams have a chance to sign and it now looks like teams won't have to wait much longer, per MLB.com.
The New York Mets are one team in particular that is pleading their case to reel in the star. Not a ranking exists without the Mets as a top-five favorite to land Soto. Mets owner Steve Cohen has made it a point to express considerable interest in Soto even with some non-committal utterances at times.
Projected 2025 NL East standings if the Mets sign Juan Soto
The Philadelphia Phillies were never in the Soto sweepstakes and now face the possible reality of opposing Soto within the division for the next decade-plus. As dreadful as that would be, here's how the division could shake out if Soto commits to Cohen and the Mets. We've included FanGraphs' projected 2025 payroll for each team as it stands right now.
Rank | Team | Current 2025 Payroll |
|---|---|---|
1 | Phillies | $282M |
2 | Mets | $190M |
3 | Braves | $217M |
4 | Nationals | $98M |
5 | Marlins | $88M |
If the Mets sign Soto and steal him away from across town, it'll fill a major hole in their outfield and give them a much-needed top bat in the lineup. Soto finished third in the AL MVP voting in 2024 with 41 home runs and 109 RBI, posting a league-leading 128 runs. He also sported a .989 OPS in 157 games. Cohen could stiff-arm the competition with the current payroll he has to work with, along with his willingness to outbid others.
Soto is showing no signs of slowing down and FanGraphs is even projecting Soto to have 6.9 fWAR next season after 8.1 in 2024. That production could catapult the Mets into a division race with the reigning champion Phillies. Sean Manaea and Pete Alonso are now free agents so it may be tough to still best Philadelphia in 2025 if they don't add in addition to Soto.
The Braves are still going to be reeling from the injuries of Spencer Strider and Ronald Acuña Jr. while also hoping that Chris Sale can come close to the Cy Young season he had in 2024. The Phillies were never truly seen as favorites to sign Soto. This forced the Phillies to look elsewhere early on to better the roster. They have communicated with multiple clubs already and have the utmost desire to win now as shown in the early 2025 power rankings, per MLB.com's Will Leitch.
Soto coming to Queens would turn the NL East into a true three-team race for the division. With Cohen bringing Soto aboard, you can make the argument that all three teams will make the playoffs next year. It also begs the question of how strategically each team will put the pieces together to sustain the grind of the season and create a team that is truly built for postseason baseball.