MLB free agency is upon us, with the league’s on Monday in Dallas. The name on everyone’s lips is Juan Soto, but he’s this winter.
Here’s a quick look at where things stand so far this offseason:
It’s Juan Soto to the New York Mets via the richest known deal in the history of sports.
The former New York Yankees slugger received the most anticipated payday of the offseason, agreeing to a 15-year, $765 million deal with the Mets on Sunday, according .
Shohei Ohtani’s 10-year, $700 million contract last season previously stood as the richest in sports history. But his record stood for only one year. And unlike Ohtani’s deal, money and has escalators that can inflate the contract’s value to $800 million.
Since the end of the World Series, , headlined by the Dodgers and Blake Snell . The Mets and Frankie Montas are also , while the A’s signed Luis Severino to — the largest guaranteed contract in franchise history.
Japanese right-hander Roki Sasaki as the league’s winter meetings got underway, . Sasaki’s posting now opens a 45-day window, which begins Tuesday and runs through 5 p.m. ET on Jan. 23. Every MLB team is now allowed to attempt to sway the 23-year-old talent to sign when the international amateur signing period opens Jan. 15.
Because Sasaki is younger than 23, he is not eligible for the kind of deal his countryman, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, signed last year. Instead, he is limited to the international bonus pools, which are typically used to sign .
Waiting until 2025 will carry significant financial benefits for both Sasaki and his current team, the Chiba Lotte Marines of NPB. The international bonus pools reset when the new signing period starts in 2025, with . Sasaki will get more money by waiting, and that matters to the Marines because the posting fee they receive will be .
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Juan Soto joining Mets on $765M deal
It’s Juan Soto to the New York Mets via the richest known deal in the history of sports.
The New York Yankees slugger received the most anticipated payday of the offseason, agreeing to a 15-year, $765 million deal with the Mets Sunday night, according to multiple reports.
For full details on the record-shattering contract, .
Mon, December 9, 2024 at 4:27 PM GMT+1Roki Sasaki posted, opening 45-day negotiating window
Japanese right-hander Roki Sasaki has been posted now that the MLB winter meetings are underway, .
Sasaki’s posting now opens a 45-day window, which begins Tuesday and runs through 5 p.m. ET on Jan. 23. Every MLB team is now allowed to attempt to sway the 23-year-old talent to sign when the international amateur signing period opens Jan. 15.
Because Sasaki is younger than 23, he is not eligible for the kind of deal his countryman, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, signed last year. Instead, he is limited to the international bonus pools, which are typically used to sign .
Read the full story .
Mon, December 9, 2024 at 4:04 PM GMT+1For the Yankees, losing Juan Soto to the Mets is about more than baseball
For 327 halcyon days, Juan Soto was a New York Yankee.
It was a glorious, swashbuckling tenure. One filled with swaggering acts of baseballing dominance — no-doubt homers and defiant bases on balls and gestures of love to hordes of adoring bleacher creatures. A perfect match, they said. Soto, a monumental player born to play for baseball’s most monumental outfit. In ALCS Game 5, with an at-bat for the ages and a swing for the books, Soto sent the Yankees to the World Series. It all felt like just the beginning.
Late Sunday night, that joyride came to a sudden, thudding and definitive end.
.
Mets owner Steve Cohen extended an eye-popping, paradigm-shifting, 15-year, $765 million contract to make that possible. It is not just the largest deal in MLB history; . Cohen, one of the planet’s 100 richest souls, was willing to reach heretofore unthinkable heights to bring Soto to Queens. He outbid the Yanks, plain and simple.
Read the full story .
Mon, December 9, 2024 at 5:32 AM GMT+1It’s been a journey to the Mets for Juan Soto
Juan Soto posted this picture of himself at Citi Field to Instagram years back as a member of the Nationals.
Now, Soto is reportedly heading to Queens ➡️
Mon, December 9, 2024 at 5:17 AM GMT+1The Mets meant business
Juan Soto’s contract is more than TWICE as much as the second-richest contract the Mets have handed out 🤯
Earlier Sunday, the Dodgers struck a deal with Michael Conforto, poaching him from the NL West rival Giants. Conforto is joining the World Series champion Dodgers on a one-year, $17 million contract, according to multiple reports.
Conforto’s is one of a number of deals already by the Dodgers, who kicked off the offseason in November by , also from the Giants.
For full details, .
With the dust not yet settled on the news of the Juan Soto contract, news broke that reliever Blake Treinen has agreed to a contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers. The 36-year-old righty will return to Los Angeles for his fifth season with the franchise, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan.
Right-handed reliever Blake Treinen and the Los Angeles Dodgers are in agreement on a contract, sources tell ESPN.