Left at the Altar

 

I didn't think there was a universe where we didn't get him.

There were possibilities. Y'know, the Dodgers and Blue Jays would chase him, Boston would make a case. I always assumed Steve Cohen would be in the race. But after everything Juan Soto did this season in the Bronx, I didn't think he'd see a fit like that and say he didn't want it for the rest of his career. I thought that was the perfect team for him, the perfect spot in the lineup. I just figured he wanted that.

And...he didn't? 

Look, this year I've learned that as much as I think I know what other people want, I don't. I keep getting blindsided by that. People keep disappointing me. And the thing that makes me the maddest about this deal is not that it's for 15 years, not that it's over 700 million, and not that it's not with the Yankees...but that it's with the Mets.

Y'ever get really friendly with somebody, think you know what they value, and then one day they go 'I'd like to introduce you to the love of my life' and it's someone that seems like the exact opposite fit for them? And you go 'well what the hell does this guy even see in somebody like this? That's this deal. I have no idea what the Mets said to Juan Soto to make this more appealing than the Yankees, who he knew he could compete as a member of. I have no idea what Juan Soto thinks he can do with the Mets that he couldn't have done with the Yankees. I have no idea why he's walk out on the Yankees for someone who just flashed more cash at him at the right time. Cause it may be as simple as that, Steve Cohen just offered more money. But...did Juan Soto think through that it would be for this Mets team? Over a Yankee team that arguably has more solidified pieces?

I'm not saying the Mets have nothing, let's be clear. They have Lindor, Nimmo, Senga, now Alvarez and Vientos, the onset of Mauricio and Acuna, and probably even more in free agency at this rate. I don't know if they're re-signing Pete Alonso or Sean Manaea. They're also in a tough division, where the Braves and Phillies could still outdo them this year. The AL East is tough, yes, but right now it's closer to a two-team race than a three-team race, and the Yankees still have better odds. 

I think the idea is that with Soto, the Mets build more around him and in a couple years have a World Series team, but...you all saw Soto after the Dodgers won this year, right? He was soaking in what it felt like to lose so that it'd never happen again. That's the kind of arc that I'd assume he'd try to resolve sooner than later. The Mets very well might make a World Series as soon as next year, but it'd take a lot of things falling into place, more than if Soto had stayed with the Yankees. And I don't know if he fully realizes it.

Now there's also the fact that you're giving 765 million over 15 years to a 25-year old based on an incredible 7 season stretch, and you're hoping the rest of his career stacks up to that. It probably will, but the Mets have this...ability to turn the inevitable into a missed opportunity. Need I remind you of Bobby Bonilla? Jason Bay? Johan Santana? I worry Soto won't match up to his initial run. 

I think the single best thing about this from the Yankees side is that it ensures we won't need to trade either Jasson Dominguez or Spencer Jones. That frees up an OF spot for Jasson as soon as next Opening Day, and while I assume a rental or lighter FA will go in RF for a bit, Jones will follow sometime after. And then they'll build the kind of outfield Judge can start at DH with. So honestly, this team can survive without him, even if it's not what I pictured.

But honestly, this hurts. I really thought Soto would be staying in the Bronx, and he seemed to think he could get more done in Queens. Either he's right or he learns quickly that he should have thought it through some more.