JUAN SOTO seems like a big deal

ie

https://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/juan-soto-looks-like-the-best-teenage-hitter-in-history/

but does he have a blog

Tweets will surface from when he was 8.

oh shit, didn't see that morbius had already posted the link (i've been traveling the last few days). still, came here to post this:

https://i.imgur.com/63faZ5r.png?1

elite plate discipline from a teenager is just amazing.

this is also pretty impressive:

https://i.imgur.com/xNWGTk8.png?1

Juan Soto has seven walks after falling behind in the count 1-and-2. Dee Gordon has seven walks

— Jeff Sullivan (@based_ball) August 6, 2018

according to b-ref, his nickname is 'childish bambino'

Age fraud hasn’t been a thing in Latin America in nearly a decade. But then again Joe Simpson is stuck in the past, so it’s not a surprise that he proffers this sort of garbage. Ignore it.

Juan Soto is 19. Period. Full stop. And he’s doing things the game never has seen before. https://t.co/V5iWMkkleF

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) August 8, 2018

Joe Simpson is the worst.

He really is -- I hope his slo-mo meltdown speeds up and he says something totally fire-able soon.

damn, soto has a really intimidating batting stance. he looks so locked in

Top 10 most Home Runs as a teenager:

1. Tony Conigliaro (Boston) 24
2. Bryce Harper (Washington Nationals) 22
3. Mel Ott (NY Giants) 19
4. Juan Soto (Washington Nationals) 18 <-Turns 20 October 25, 2018
5. Ken Griffey, Jr. (Seattle) 16
6. Phil Cavarretta (Cubs) 14
7. Mickey Mantle (NY Yankees) 13
8. Ed Kranepool (NY Mets) 12
9. Robin Yount (Milwaukee) 11
10. Harmon Killebrew (Washington Senators) 9

Only one behind Harper now.

Tied with Harper. Will more than likely not break Conigliaro's record, but still an incredible feat.

juan soto hit the roof of the Tokyo Dome tonight, turning a no-doubt home run into an out at the warning track (ground rules, at least in that stadium, allow the ball to remain in play)

that sucks for him, but ultimately is a much better story

They're very close statistically, but pretty sure Acuna will win ROY this week. Soto has a 40-point edge in OBP, Acuna a 35-point SLG advantage, and their BA is even; that makes Soto the more productive hitter, but it'll be viewed as a wash (Acuna's OPS+ is actually a little higher; five fewer GDP, for one thing), and Acuna has more HR and--going by dWAR, anyway--better defense.

James's rundown of last year's rookies:

http://www.billjamesonline.com/the_rookies_of_2018/

"Acuna ranks a little ahead of Soto because he had almost the same OPS and better defense in a tougher park for a hitter, but in all honesty I think I would choose Soto."

my man bill james otm

acuña deserved the ROY but i think i'm more impressed with soto's season

― mookieproof, Tuesday, November 13, 2018 3:16 PM (two weeks ago)

My first “Juan Soto is good” tweet of the year. Juan Soto is good.

— FantasyRundown.com (@FantasyRundown) March 30, 2019

Best OBP before age-21 (min. 550 PAs):
1. Ted Williams - .436
2. Mel Ott - .414
3. John McGraw - .412
4. Jimmie Foxx - .410
5. Juan Soto - .402https://t.co/mgTtlNrgK5

— Baseball Reference (@baseball_ref) April 18, 2019

20yo Juan Soto's MLB career SLG > 20yo Vlad Jr's career MLB OPS

geez give VGJ more than a week

my brain kept trying to read that acronym as jeff van gundy

future dh

He's now played 162 games:

292/.402/.519 with 31 homers, 107 runs & 107 RBI.

what were Trout's first 162? can someone PlayIndex that?

https://moretalk.wordpress.com/2012/09/15/mike-trout-the-first-162-games/

.309/.374/.531 (accomplished while 2 years older than Soto)

that's a very impressive line from trout, too, considering that his first 40 games (during his rookie 2011) he slashed vajazzled .220/.281/.390

Two homers today. Soto won't come anywhere near Trout's 10.5 WAR in his age-20 season (defense and juiced ball, among other things), but his raw offensive totals in many categories are going to match or surpass Trout's.

Juan Soto (@Nationals) is the 3rd player in MLB history to hit 50 home runs before turning 21 years old, joining Mel Ott (61) and Tony Conigliaro (56). pic.twitter.com/qjMLcRG8si

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) August 18, 2019

Soto's got such a nice fluid swing, I would not be surprised if he starts hitting over .300 at some point.

Nats have hit the draft lottery twice in a short time, pretty nice to be able to replace Harper pretty much straight up with perhaps a higher ceiling.

https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/juan-soto-becomes-first-nl-player-to-hit-30-home-runs-in-a-season-before-age-21-since-frank-robinson/

Soto's got such a nice fluid swing, I would not be surprised if he starts hitting over .300 at some point.

― earlnash, Sunday, August 18, 2019 5:21 PM (two weeks ago)

prescient post

Lifted this from Sports Illustrated:

And because Soto has a Baseball Reference-calculated Wins Above Replacement mark of 5.0 and Acuña is at 4.8, they are, in all likelihood, going to end up on this short list of pairs of players under 22 to share a 5-WAR season:

Donie Bush (6.5) and Tris Speaker (6.3), 1909
Jimmie Foxx (7.9) and Mel Ott (7.4), 1929
Eddie Mathews (8.3) and Mickey Mantle (5.8), 1953
Al Kaline (8.2) and Hank Aaron (6.3), 1955
Frank Robinson (6.6) and Kaline (6.5), 1956
Trout (10.5) and Harper (5.2), 2012
Trout (9.0) and Machado (6.7), 2013

that trout guy was good

That was the premise of the SI piece I took that from: that Acuña/Soto are the new Trout/Harper (acknowledging that the latter is a non-issue now).

Devers (22) has a fWAR of 5.5 (ie, higher than Acuna & Soto)

or wait is it <=22 or <22?

wow that's a very impressive list of HOFers, future HOFers, some guy named Donie Bush, and Bryce Harper.

Per Baseball-Reference, Soto joins Alex Rodriguez, Ruben Sierra and Jose Canseco as the only major-league hitters in the last 50 years to record a 30-homer, 100-RBI, 10-steal season before their age 22 season.

I don't really understand his contract status:

Signed thru 2019, Earliest Arb Eligible: 2022, Earliest Free Agent: 2025

If he's only signed through this season but not eligible for arbitration until 2022, what does that mean for 2020 and 2021?

i'm not sure about the technical/legal background but it's similar for other pre-arb players. soto is definitely under team control through 2022

by "similar" i mean you'll see the same kind of contract status for other pre-arb players

Thanks. Baseball Reference should make that clearer...if they control him until 2022, why not just say "signed through 2021." There's almost an implication of the old reserve-clause system there, where the Nationals can just renew him for whatever they want in 2020/21.

hey clemenza, just noticed that fangraphs has updated their contract summary pages for each team. i don't know what you usually refer to for that kind of information, but to me this is pretty much the easiest and simplest way to get it. here's the page for the nats:

https://www.fangraphs.com/roster-resource/payroll/nationals

and here's more info: https://blogs.fangraphs.com/instagraphs/introducing-rosterresource-payroll-pages/

One of the things that makes Juan Soto special is his mature approach at the plate. The Nationals outfielder may not be able to legally buy alcohol in the United States, but he doesn’t just have the discipline of a seasoned vet, he has the discipline of Joey Votto in his prime. A 15 percent walk rate would be good for anyone, but it’s incredible for someone who is younger than OK Computer.

His low chase rate is the primary driver of his ability to draw a walk, but Soto has another strategy he employs. When the count reaches two strikes, Soto crouches down lower to shrink his strike zone.

https://www.beyondtheboxscore.com/2019/9/4/20848679/juan-soto-washington-nationals-two-strike-crouch-robot-umps

Kinda faded a bit over the last 2 weeks of the season, but can now add "clutch postseason heroics" to his CV.

Juan Soto is the second youngest player in postseason history to have a WPA over .500 in a game.

The youngest, Miguel Cabrera, did it in Game 4 of the 2003 NLDS, a series-clinching game but not an elimination one https://t.co/XL00s8G42k pic.twitter.com/kPjbewAa9k

— Baseball Reference (@baseball_ref) October 2, 2019

<3

https://sports.theonion.com/juan-soto-sheepishly-asks-group-of-nationals-fans-enter-1838887733

so did Miggy or Cobb homer as a WS cleanup hitter under 21?

Youngest to hit a World Series home run: Andruw Jones, 19 years, 180 days; Miguel Cabrera, 20 years, 187 days; Mickey Mantle, 20 years, 352 days; Juan Soto, 20 years, 362 days.

Soto & Jones are the only <20 year olds to hit a HR in their WS debut.

Nats Dominican academy pic.twitter.com/vLIoQLrWF5

— johnny (@dipuglia) October 23, 2019

Happy birthday, Juan Soto!

We will adjust our World Series content accordingly. pic.twitter.com/jAICJ0t14q

— Baseball America (@BaseballAmerica) October 25, 2019

Watching Juan Soto lash a beautiful oppo homer this afternoon is as good a reason as any to gaze in wonder yet again at his career XBH spray chart. pic.twitter.com/g3RJlP7H6D

— Andrew Simon (@AndrewSimonMLB) February 25, 2020

cardinals broadcast made sure to keep track of how long his home run trot was (25.5 seconds)

iirc last week when someone asked him what his goals for spring training were, he said 'to make the team'

otm

i think he will probably make the team

*crosses fingers*

positive for COVID

After being away from the team for ten days due to a positive COVID-19 test, Juan Soto returned to the Nationals on Saturday and joined the team for a workout at Nats Park. “For me, in my mind, I think it was a [false] positive,” he said. “I’ve been working on it. I tested a bunch of times negative. Following the rules, being in the right spot. I think that’s why I think it’s a [false] positive because I’ve been following the rules. I’ve been really serious with this. It’s out there. But, for me, they can look at me however they want. I’m going to be the same guy.”

https://www.nbcsports.com/washington/nationals/juan-soto-rejoins-nationals-nationals-park

Activated from the IL but not in the starting lineup...?

Maybe need a Fernando Tatis Jr. thread to parallel this one (born about two months later).

Go for it, lots of lesser players have dedicated threads.

I'm the guy who jumped the gun on Carlos Correa.

Jumping the Gun: the Carlos Correa Thread

Or you could do a poll like TROUT V. HARPER but throw in Acuña as another option?

I mean...

FREE HUNTER PENCE!!!

yeah but hunter pence is awesome, love that guy.

jose martinez is an honorary hunter pence, to me

Fernando Tatis Jr. is Bringing Joy Back to Baseball

i won't regret this

also considered a "how many seasons will it take for FTJr to surpass james shields in WAR" poll but that just seems mean

2020 OPS
https://i.imgur.com/j2FmMMG.jpg

this year he's no Mike Yastrzemski

nor any other year I hope.

Or you could do a poll like TROUT V. HARPER but throw in Acuña as another option?

And maybe Bo Bichette too. (Okay, I'm cherry-picking after his big night.)

In-depth analysis of his season to date:

https://www.mlb.com/news/juan-soto-best-all-around-hitter-2020

"Tatis and Soto aren't just the best young stars in Major League Baseball. They're the best players."

Way too early, and not a real season anyway, but for what it's worth, Baseball Reference has Betts as the best player in baseball right now.

Top of the 3rd: Nats down 0-4 to the Red Sox.

Trea Turner hits a lead off double.

Soto is faced with a radical shift, and surprisingly decides to bunt down the 1B line with Turner running. The pitcher has trouble fielding it, throws it over the 1B's head, Turner scores, Soto takes 2nd on the throw home. Sets up a 3-run response that puts the Nats back into the game.

Highest SLG since 2004 (Bonds) was Yelich last year: .671
Soto is at .800

Soto 2019: 132 strikeouts vs 34 homers
Soto 2020: 13 strikeouts vs 11 homers

From a SI piece: "Among those with at least 1,000 plate appearances prior to their age-22 season, Soto's career OPS through his age-21 season ranks fourth, behind only Ted Williams (1.041), Jimmie Foxx (1.015) and Mel Ott (.986)."

(Which is .967...mlb.com piece, I mean.)

They pulled Soto after going 1-1 today--some things never change--so it looks like he'll win the slash TC. Younger than when Williams did it in '41, so I'm guessing he's the youngest ever.

With a 60-game asterisk

For sure--on top of which, he only played in 75% of his team's games. Still, looking at the list of people who've done this post-1900, it's a pretty imposing group of players. (Sherry Magee and Fred Lynn were about the worst, and they were pretty damn good.)

http://cliffcorcoran.com/2012/09/25/slash-stat-triple-crown-winners/

Juan Soto leading off innings in 2020:
13-for-25
Four doubles
Four homers.
Eight walks.
One hit by pitch.
One strikeout.
For your basic .520/.647/1.160 slash line.

— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) December 14, 2020

Extending Juan Soto… All the Way to Cooperstown

https://i.redd.it/o75iy76dgum61.jpg

Do ZIPS projections usually spit out such metronomic consistency? Those totals are possible--though they would probably make him one of the 10 best hitters ever; rather optimistic--but no fluctuations for injury, off-year, pitcher's years, pandemics, etc. seems highly unlikely.

well, yes. it's a projection, not a forecast -- it's not like they can predict soto will blow out his knee and miss the 2028 season. and of course it's somewhat fantastical, but i wouldn't say jaffe is prone to hyperbole.

the biggest caveat, as mentioned in the article, is that he becomes unplayable in the outfield

I’m surprised he isn’t that good a fielder tbh.
I wonder how often fielding improves over time. I would think not often, but maybe with a guy that young there’s a better chance?

zips accounts for injury at least by projecting fewer and fewer ABs every season, it just doesn't project a random huge injury or anything like that

john sickels of minorleagueball.com used to do crystal ball predictions that i believe were 100% handmade, and he would always have fun with predicting things like that. and then he would have players sign with expansion teams that didn't exist yet or move to the KBO in their last 2-4 years

this is the only super old one i can find, probably pissed off a lot of reds fans at the time
https://assets.sbnation.com/assets/3261/brucestats.JPG

I know you can't predict injury; I was probably thinking more of minor adjustments for the up-and-down nature of a career. I'd have to dig one out, but James used to do occasional career projections in the Abstracts, and I'm pretty sure there was some acknowledgement in his--something built in to however he'd programmed them--that careers don't rise and fall in straight lines. Not a big deal.

clem, it’s based on like a million simulations. it’s not predicting that’s how his career will look exactly, but on average that is the trajectory of a young star’s career. he’ll have a year with 3 WAR and another with 9 instead of the smooth rise and fall, but in the end it evens out

Would love to see a similar table for Acuna.

In the late '80s-early '90s, the Rotisserie League Baseball guys would publish a book every year with fantasy predictions and have a full stat line for each player. Complete BS because none of them were analysts and it went to print in December most likely but it put me on a dark path of doing the same for a few years and of assembling the complete "projected" stats for my entire rotisserie teams each year.

OTOH, my first year of having a solo team in my dad's league was 1990 and I bought Bobby Thigpen and Cecil Fielder at the auction.

soto years 1 and 2: 1154 PA, .287/.403/.535, 142 OPS+, 231 SO, 187 BB
soto years 3 and 4: 742 PA, .315/.460/.566, 180 OPS+, 108 SO, 155 BB

SOTO WILL also BE MVP BY 2025, IT IS KNOWN

where is that poll thread of the young guns?

Old Man Acuña

stunned by the plate discipline of soto and vlad at their ages

Said it on the main thred but watching soto flip HR oppo looks sooooooooo easy

130 walks ties him with Harper (2018) for fourth-highest single-season total among active players; Votto holds the top three spots with seasons of 143 (2015), 135 (2013), and 134 (2017). Ten games left--should take second on that list, but hard to overtake the top spot.

Votto is a man-god

Soto took over the BA lead for both leagues today.

(And must have a big OBP lead.)

also leading in CS weirdly enough

I noticed that too. Weird: 23/28 his first three years, 9/16 this year. He got bolder and slower simultaneously.

juan soto in 67 second-half games: .369/.542/.682, 18 HR, 81 BB, 34 K

juan soto in 26 september games: .430/.590/.744, 7 HR, 34 BB, 8 K

now leads the NL in both fWAR and bWAR for position players (the latter by quite a bit). envisioning a pujols-like run here

wow, by fWAR he's ahead of everyone in the AL too, including vlad and semien, by just a smidge.

by pujols-like run do you mean his consistency in the 2000s? seems right to me, just watching him. even his lesser stretches (first half 2021) are still very, very good by almost any other measure other than himself

yeah, basically where he's a top-five mvp candidate for the next seven years in a row. more fun soto splits (this season):

he's hitting .469/.463/.813 on first pitches, so don't throw him a first-pitch strike. but then he's hitting .588/.600/1.147 on 1-0 pitches, so

Juan Soto turned down a 13-year, $350 million contract from the Washington Nationals before the lockout, according to this @Enrique_Rojas1 report. In the story, Soto confirms the offer.

More from Enrique at @ESPNDeportes: https://t.co/zNnlWTb9Rd

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) February 16, 2022

He has 6 home runs this year, and a total of 7 RBIs.

juan soto is in one of the worst slumps of his career.

https://i.imgur.com/SYsTbAb.png

juan soto is batting 25% better than the average MLB hitter (wRC+ 125, .214/.265/.432 with 14 HRs)
juan soto's babip is .207, more than 100 points below any other season.
juan soto has 20.0 fWAR and is 23 years old.

Turned down a 15 year/$440M extension. My guess is that no amount would have been sufficient.

That sounds crazy but I honestly can't blame him for thinking he could get more, possibly a lot more, if he hits FA, and he wouldn't have to spend some of his best years on a rebuilding team. Would really only need to get like 10/400 at 26 to beat it and possibly even leave an opportunity for another decent payday at 36.

$440M seems like a big deal.

he's gonna be a yankee, isn't he

With six playoff teams per league, "rebuilding" doesn't mean what it used to.

Can't blame Soto for wanting to bet on himself though.

i feel bad for nats fans

I can’t believe there seems to be a growing consensus that he will be traded in a week or two. My guess is that it probably costs a team their top 3-5 prospects plus some of their current starters.

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/with-juan-soto-available-the-nationals-have-upended-the-trade-market/

Goofy trade scenarios (skimmed--I think the writer's just making them up).

https://www.sportsnet.ca/mlb/article/exploring-juan-soto-trades-no-matter-how-far-fetched/

whats going on here.

The #Padres, barely clinging to the final wild-card berth, are still awaiting dividends on their blockbuster trade:
Juan Soto is hitting .063 (3-48) without an extra-base hit in his last 15 games; .202 with 7 RBI in 35 games since his arrival.
Josh Bell is hitting .204/.319/.307.

— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) September 16, 2022

And that's not even to mention Josh Hader's 4-digit ERA as a Padre. What's going on?

san diego is where stars go to die

It’s fascinating to me how bad the deadline deals have worked out so far to the Padres. And I say that as a person who wants them to do well.

I was gonna post that Drury's been great but I see he only has a 700 OPS too!

just a poorly timed slump

Haven't read it yet, but Posnanski has a column on Soto today:

What gives? At ages 21 and 22, Soto was channeling Ted Williams. Now, all due respect, he’s channeling Ted Sizemore. How can we make sense of any of this?

san diego is where stars go to die

― Spottie, Friday, September 16, 2022 1:41 PM (seven months ago)

Probably no surprise, in view of the fact Soto again leads the league in BB; Posnanski (with some numbers for support) thinks Soto has become too selective.

I've got to believe he'll come back--if not all the way, at least to an All-Star level. Mostly I liked the Ted Sizemore reference in that quote.

Finally, finally--having a player-of-the-month May:

.346/.485/.680, 11 doubles, 5 HR

I don't know if there was any validity to that "too selective" theory (always a dicey proposition). Has he become more aggressive? Twenty-one walks for the month would suggest otherwise. Tim?

(Will be seeing them/him in July.)

MVP already locked up.

Is this the Yankees thread now?

I hope he's a Yankee forever

At least for as long as they're playing the asstros

kinda weird to see the team happy tho ngl

I don't know who Sal Licata is, but he's taken it upon himself to revive the whole Joey Votto thing from 15 years ago, complaining about Soto being selective when there are runs that need to be knocked in. (From what I've seen in a cursory look around, he gets lots of pushback via comments.)

so to clarify, some guy is talking about something that happened 15 years ago

No--he's talking about something happening now, and not especially insightfully. I'm drawing the comparison to what Votto went through 15 years ago.

Massive if true. I'm gonna pay more attention to Sal Licata from here on out.

You see how incredibly timely my post was? In the midst of a Jays meltdown today, Soto came up with two out, runners on second and third, score 4-4. He had the discipline to work a full-count walk, including a called strike that wasn't even close. Which brought Judge up, who knocked in two (also shook off a terrible strike call). If Soto isn't Soto, he probably chases and makes the third out.

Anyway, is this a new ILX policy, that we shouldn't be posting about stupid stuff people say? There goes 63% of all posting.

We prefer to run with "in-house" stupidity round these parts

That's some real, the-antagonist-scouts-in-moneyball, type logic tho! You can see that exact thought coming from the round table drafting scene at the beginning of the movie

https://i.imgur.com/sBUf3od.png

Terrible baserunner and fielder, I agree!

he is so good

4-4, 2 HR, 3 RBI today. With Judge and Stanton warming up, that's pretty daunting.

Soto's .421 career OBP puts him at #19 all-time (tied with Mickey Mantle) if he were to retire tomorrow.

Only other active players in the top 100 are Trout (.411), Votto (.409) & Judge (.396).

According to Baseball Reference, first player to draw 700 walks before turning 26.

How's this for a nice round batting line (Soto, before he just got a hit): 20 HR, 60 RBI, .300, 1.002 OPS. Almost perfect.

mother of god

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2eJsLiNrok

40 homers this season

200 homers in his career

made the NYT crossword today

he hit his 200th at T-Mobile stadium in Seattle, and has now hit a homer in every ballpark in the majors

Career bWAR:

Juan Soto (25): 36.4 (28th among active players)
JT Realmuto (33): 36.3
Trea Turner (31): 36.3
Sal Perez (34): 35.5
Anthony Rendon (34): 33.7
Matt Olson (30): 32.9

...

The floor for Juan Soto’s contract appears to be $600MM. Ken Rosenthal, Evan Drellich and Brendan Kuty of the Athletic report that every team that remains in the Soto bidding has made a formal offer at or above that number.

...While Soto reportedly fielded interest from 11 teams at the beginning of the offseason, it seems a clear five suitors have emerged: the Yankees, Mets, Blue Jays, Red Sox and Dodgers. Most speculation throughout the industry is that he’ll land with one of the New York franchises. To that end, Rosenthal, Drellich and Kuty write that many people around the game expect that Mets’ owner Steve Cohen will refuse to be outbid.

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/12/bidding-for-juan-soto-has-reached-600mm.html

soto to the mets would be the funniest outcome

No, Soto to the Jays would be the funniest and most unexpected outcome.

Soto and Vlad hitting 3-4 would be great for a year, before Vlad inevitably signs somewhere else. Unless the Jays somehow cough up the $300-400M that it'll take to sign him too. They could be a must-watch team for the next 5-7 years at least. All it would take is a little bit of money!

is there a good breakdown of canada's tax situation and how that impacts the jays recruitment efforts?

https://www.thebeaverton.com/2024/12/report-juan-soto-in-talks-with-ohtani-about-best-way-to-get-canadians-hopes-up-before-crushing-their-dreams/

It was never a factor in the late '80s and early '90s when everybody wanted to come here, but I don't know what the exchange rate was then--probably closer to par than now. (Whatever Toronto offers a player, they must account for that already anyway, no?) The tax situation, I don't know. The biggest factor, I would think, is that back then we were generally considered the best organization in baseball, with lots of game-wide respect for Pat Gillick and Paul Beeston and everyone else, and now we have two guys who fans here don't like at all; their reputation outside of Toronto, I don't know, but I bet it's not that different. I think we're becoming little more than a prop/pawn with these high-profile free agents. If we ever sign one, I'll rescind that.

Exchange rate back then was between .75-.85, where as now it’s usually around .70. But it doesn’t matter since players get paid in USD either way.
Tax - all taxes (federal, state/provincial, city) I’ve been told is slightly less than NYC or CA. But I haven’t done the math on that.

Do you think there's any validity to my Gillick/Beeston vs. Shapiro/Atkins theory?

Sort of. I think staring in the mid 80s the jays were an exciting new thing that was on the rise. The strike sapped fan interest in Toronto and Expos leaving Montreal made the Canadian market look bad in general - despite the big differences between the cities. I also think post 9-11 there has also been a rise in nationalism where there is less interest in playing for some commie snow-covered nation of hockey crazy syrup munchers.

This doesn't apply to Soto, but if I were a starting pitcher, I'd be really reluctant to come here after the successive Gausman/Berrios playoff debacles (and you could throw in the way Manoah's situation was handled).

Did Carlos Mendozas son just leak the Soto signing?!?😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/OPR0kfxBhO

— omzy (@omzy__) December 6, 2024

Would be very sick if he became a met

How much money does Cohen have to spend to do irreversible damage to the "lovable loser, little brother just trying his best" image the mets have cultivated?

Seems like the kid leaked an offer, not the signing.

w/r/t all the rumors today, Juan Soto's spray chart if all his 2024 hits were overlaid at Fenway:

https://i.imgur.com/ZVFkNn9.png

jesus christ

disgraceful bandbox

I looked at his expected home runs by park and Fenway returned the exact same numbers as his 2024 numbers fwiw.

The top and bottom parks for him (career)

Actual career home runs: 212

1. Great American Ball Park (Reds): 256
2. Dodger stadium (Dodgers): 232
3. American Family Field (Brewers): 231
4. Guaranteed Rate Field (White Sox): 230
5. Minute Maid/ whatever it’s called now (Astros): 227

Bottom 5:

1. Kauffman Field (Royals): 163
2. Comerica Park (Tigers): 163
3. PNC Park (Pirates): 170
4. Oracle Stadium (Giants): 179
5. Fenway Park (Red Sox): 180

Which isn’t to say he wouldn’t mash anywhere he goes, because he has! (Interestingly, even though Citi Field has a lower home run factor than Yankee stadium his career numbers would be 204 at Citi vs 185 for Yankee Stadium).

I wish he’d decide on somewhere because just end it already but honestly I think this offseason has been cooked for me because of the Chapman signing and I really wish I could be excited about anything.

mets baby, love da mets

the fuckin mets cmon man

Meet the mets, meet the mets!

those lovable underdog mets, will they ever be able to get it together

at least most mets fans have the jets to help satisfy their inferiority complexes

The dodgers signing conforto (wtf? Where's Teo!?) kinda proved this was being announced today

teo is a yankee, sadly

do teoscar + bellinger + christian walker = one (juan?) soto?

Xp don't say that

You're a yank man? You hating on Teo? Them's fighting words round 'ere

let them (the yankees and dodgers fans) fight

JUAN SOTO seems likely to receive a big deal

Would be very sick if he became a met

Juan Soto, Mets agree to landmark 15-year deal worth $765 million

How can I make this about Ohtani?

teo is fine it is just sad because he is not soto

Understandable

How can I make this about Ohtani?

It’s the largest contract in the history of professional sports, blowing away not only the $461MM net present value of the deal Shohei Ohtani landed with the Dodgers last winter but even the $700MM sticker price Ohtani signed for before accounting for that deal’s record-breaking deferrals. Soto’s $51MM average annual value eclipses the record for MLB players, which was previously held by Ohtani, by a significant margin as well. The Mets weren’t the only team willing to go to record-setting lengths to land Soto either, as Heyman reports that the Yankees’ final bid for the slugger clocked in at $760MM over 16 years. MassLive’s Sean McAdam, meanwhile, reports that the Red Sox offered Soto $700MM over 15 years.

Couldn't be a bosox or yank fan today. Condolences

https://i.imgur.com/UggLJrO.jpeg

I mean is it really much of a choice with one fewer year and 5 extra mil? It's not like he went for a present chump team either, the 2024 mets played at least as good as the yanks in the post season and it (clearly) looks like their money is firmly inserted where the mouth is. Besides a turbulent takeover year, they've seemed very.... competent under Cohen? Mets fans feel free to correct my assessment. Soto is also at the place where team prestige doesn't matter as he is the teams prestige. I'm sure the playoffs didnt exactly enamour him to the yanks current project...

there are apparently some serious contract escalations in the mets deal that could give him an extra 40 mil or so

mets are the most pathetic fanbase in sports yuppies with a humiliation fetish

he can also opt out in 5 years if he dares

mets are the most pathetic fanbase in sports yuppies with a humiliation fetish

says the guy who is a fan of the most random teams ever

Not mook with the team policing. Every pull out your identification cards...... nice and slow

xp is it uconn + eagles + yankees + nuggets?

didn't take us long to start fighting over this one

xpost

It’s the beauty of sport

i'm not even a legit mets fan -- i've just lived here for 19 years!

Soto can either opt out after the fifth year (2029) or receive a $4 million raise per season — from $51 million to $55 million — for the remainder of the contract, per source. https://t.co/3Vh6pXJ8ZB

— Jorge Castillo (@jorgecastillo) December 9, 2024

805 mill contract….

Is it a one-time opt-out after five or does he get that choice every year after five?

One time it seems

says the guy who is a fan of the most random teams ever

― mookieproof, Sunday, December 8, 2024 8:08 PM (eighteen minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

you can’t choose family!

the opt out seems like it was more of the decider than the $5 of official contract value

xp is it uconn + eagles + yankees + nuggets?

― mookieproof, Sunday, December 8, 2024 8:12 PM (fourteen minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

[ariana grande meme] and what about it?

i guess crazier things have happened but the reason he's getting this contract is because he's so young; can't see anyone giving him better than $55m/yr for his 30s if he opts out

you can’t choose family!

loool please explain this disperse family!

i mean i get the uconn

5 years of inflation can do a lot…. But with an extra 4 mil a year making up for that… seems he’s a lifetime Met

should close this thread and start a new one that polls how dumb that contract is going to play out

why close the thread when he's a bigger deal than ever

xp

How will the Juan Soto Mets deal play out?

how dumb that contract is going to play out

oh no, juan soto won't be worth $50m when he's 40 years old, that's a brutal fail that all mets fans will be ruing forever

idk what seems crazy to me is that a lot of the mega contracts signed in the past 5 years or so seem crazy cheap now. i mean what’s the expected aav of judge’s 2024 season?

most (all?) of those mega contracts were half this price though. Hell even Ohtani’s contract is 57% of this Soto one when deferrals are taken into account

i’m talking about aav not total size which is misleading

don't get me wrong- as a non-NY sports fan living in NY, i'm absolutely going to love my drives to/from work listening to people lose their minds over this contract on WFAN for the next 15 years.

you can’t choose family!

loool please explain this disperse family!

― mookieproof, Sunday, December 8, 2024 8:31 PM (twenty-five minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

i mean i get the uconn

― mookieproof, Sunday, December 8, 2024 8:32 PM (twenty-three minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

- born and raised in upstate NY in 90s: yankees, no other option. since mid-90s (dad was a pirates fan to be fair)
- dad was a big eagles fan = eagles fan (since early 00s)
- parents went to/met at syracuse university, became nuggets fan when melo was drafted (2003)
- went to uconn

<3

don't get me wrong- as a non-NY sports fan living in NY, i'm absolutely going to love my drives to/from work listening to people lose their minds over this contract on WFAN for the next 15 years.

The Yankees were in the lead for Soto all through the process, through the weekend and late afternoon today. Steve Cohen came from the top rope very late and got it done.

— Andy Martino (@martinonyc) December 9, 2024

Nice way to start a Monday. I agree with mookie, as per the other thread:

There is no way Soto is going to be able to "live up" to that contract. He's not going to be a force in his late thirties, so the contract comes down to the next 10 years. If Soto is Soto for a solid 10 years and the Mets win a WS, no one, including Steve Cohen, is going to care about the rest of the contract.

Exactly, thought we all knew the back end of big contracts is just to lower the AAV & a sunk cost, esp given that $51m now is going to be worth a lot less in 15 years.

This is actually astounding from Heyman if true:

https://twitter.com/oneshiningmets/status/1865996095056126265

No workee

Sorry, text of tweet:

This is interesting from Jon Heyman, apparently Steve Cohen found out that Juan Soto got pissed about the Yankees not allowing a family member & his driver in a certain clubhouse area.

So Cohen then brought the Mets traveling secretary to explain family perks to their meeting.

And image:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GeVZjv7XMAAvU2l?format=jpg&name=large

Yankees cop adjacency biting them in the ass, finally

I mean it was the money, but that stuck out as a strange detail for Heyman to include so who knows

Juan Soto is Rizz Approved‼️🤫🤔😎🫡

— The Rizzler (@Da_Rizzler419) December 9, 2024

I was just wondering about that 🤔

Xp yankee security:

No one can tell me this isn't the plot of a Seinfeld episode. George fubs the signing of the century by not letting the superstar w/ family into in the employee only section of the stadium; smarmy grin, fade to black. Love them Yanks

just comparing that yearly salary vs Judge is crazy. i don't see how Soto (being an elite hitter, meh base runner, garbage fielder) is worth over 25% more than Judge. it's madness. probably Judge took a hometown discount vs what he might have gotten elsewhere, but still

MLB regular season games played before age 26:

Juan Soto: 936
Aaron Judge: 182
Shohei Ohtani: 266

MLB postseason stats:

Juan Soto: .285/.421/.532 (.953 OPS)
Aaron Judge: .205/.318/.450 (.768 OPS)
Shohei Ohtani: .230/.373/.393 (.766 OPS)

https://i.postimg.cc/Y0NBBcC5/juan.jpg

The "one more thing" is flair.

https://www.espn.com/mlb/insider/story/_/id/42913097/juan-soto-new-york-met-story-record-contract

alright who’s got the insider sub??

Click reader if you’re on your phone & it should work

I didn’t watch the Soto presser but supposedly he said none of the Yankees were in touch after the WS? That seems so strange.

agreed. wonder if there's a lack of leadership/comradery in the club house. or maybe just no one liked the guy?!

They wanted him back pretty badly, so if that was the case they should have put that aside. Soto & Judge was the best offensive duo in the league, their numbers might have been historical iirc? It might be the organisational approach; the article says that Hal Steinbrenner’s relationship with him was more passive, Steinbrenner wanted to give him space during the season. But that is not necessarily how it came across per the piece.

That might be the most boring "insider story of ____" articles I've ever read. Boras did Boras stuff and got big money for his client, one team is happy, others aren't. Big deal.

Thanks for your input.

https://nypost.com/2024/12/15/sports/how-juan-soto-steve-cohen-celebrated-their-765-million-mets-pact/

After getting started with a mozzarella and tomato salad, Soto went for the ribeye cooked “medium-plus,” per the report.

smh

🚮

I saw a video once where players were asked how they ordered their steak and it was like a sea of well done and medium well done.

most baseball players are hillbillies

He just turned 26 years old... Give him some time to develop his palate.

juan soto in june: .325/.485/.753

is not wildly unlike aaron judge in 2025: .361/.461/.719

In a subpar year, headed for 7.0 WAR (and not because of his fielding prowess) and a 150 OPS+.