The 2024 season was supposed to be a transition year for the New York Mets. They instead outperformed expectations and were two wins shy of reaching the World Series. Team owner Steve Cohen now has his eyes set on outfielder Juan Soto. But could the Amazin’s be preparing for another historic shopping spree in free agency?
While Soto would be the crown jewel of the Mets’ offseason, they have several roster holes to fill. First baseman Pete Alonso is also on the open market, as is three-fifths of New York’s 2024 starting rotation.
How will president of baseball operations David Stearns reload his roster to make another postseason run in 2025?
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SNY’s Danny Abriano shared thoughts on landing spots baseball’s top 10 free agents this winter. He’s predicting quite a haul for the Mets, including not just landing Juan Soto, but also re-signing Alonso and starting pitcher Sean Manaea.
“A perfect storm is brewing for the Mets, who have tons of money coming off the books ahead of the 2025 season, are in strong shape payroll-wise for the next half-decade, and seem primed to make a Soto pursuit the centerpiece of what is expected to be a very aggressive offseason,” he said.
Reeling in these three players will take a huge amount of money, and it’d only be part of what the Mets do this winter. MLB Trade Rumors is predicting a $600 million deal for Soto (13 years), a $125 million guarantee for Alonso (five years) and $60 million for Manaea (three years).
Without filling out the rest of the rotation, restocking the bullpen, and anything else on Stearns’ to-do list, signing these three would cost the Mets $785 million. However, they’d also be viewed as a serious postseason threat for the foreseeable future.
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