The Mets have been expected to line up as one of Juan Soto ’s primary suitors all winter, and after reaching out to agent Scott Boras on day one of the offseason, owner Steve Cohen is now set for an in-person visit with Soto and his agent in Southern California next week, reports Mike Puma of the New York Post . Of course, the Boras Corporation also represents key free agents like Pete Alonso , Corbin Burnes , Alex Bregman , Blake Snell , Sean Manaea , Yusei Kikuchi and Ha-Seong Kim . Whether Cohen and Boras will discuss any of those names — and whether any of those players will drop in for a sit-down with Cohen as well — remains unclear.
Little needs to be said about the potential fit for Soto in Queens. He’s among the game’s very best players and, as a free agent who’ll play next season at 26, he’s arguably the most coveted free agent since Alex Rodriguez reached the open market at the same age back in 2000. One could argue Shohei Ohtani as well, of course, but Ohtani hit the market at 29 and in the aftermath of an elbow surgery that would keep him off the mound or a full season.
The Mets, meanwhile, have one departing free agent outfielder (center fielder Harrison Bader ), another who’s a free agent after next season ( Starling Marte ) and more than $100M in free-agent salaries coming off the books. Even with a full outfield, the Mets would likely be making a strong push for Soto. No team in MLB has a larger gap between their projected 2025 payroll and thei.
