Numerous stories over the past week mentioned that New York Mets owner Steve Cohen can afford to outbid all other owners, including Hal Steinbrenner of the New York Yankees, to sign All-Star outfielder Juan Soto in free agency.
On Wednesday, MLB insider Andy Martino of SNY shared a scenario where Cohen may not go all-in on Soto.
“Last fall,” Martino explained, “when star free-agent manager Craig Counsell seemed transparent in his aim to use the Mets to drive up his own price, the Mets sniffed it out and actually made the low offer to Counsell, even less than the Milwaukee Brewers. In other words, upcoming meetings between the Mets and Soto will be extremely important in determining if the Mets will indeed follow through on their intention to pursue Soto aggressively. They won’t allow themselves to be used.”
Counsell managed the Brewers when current Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns was also with Milwaukee. Many assumed last offseason that Counsell would ultimately join the Mets, but he instead signed a record-setting five-year, $40M contract with the Chicago Cubs.
Scott Boras, Soto’s agent, told reporters on Wednesday that the 26-year-old wants to get paid but also wants to be associated with an “ownership that’s going to support that they are going to win annually.” Cohen has shown such a commitment over the past several seasons, but Randy Miller of NJ Advance Media for NJ.com noted on Thursday morning that “some baseball people” think “Stearns prefers to spread out his budget” and will “be able to convince his boss that it’s the smarter play.”
Also on Wednesday, Jon Heyman of the New York Post named five potential landing spots outside of New York for Soto.
“I don’t sense that the Mets feel that their only successful offseason involves signing Soto,” Martino continued. “Cohen did not hire David Stearns primarily as a big-game hunter, but as an executive skilled at finding hidden value on the market. There are plenty of different paths that he and his front office can travel this winter.”
As much as Boras delivered a message to team owners on Wednesday, it sounds like the Mets want it known they will do whatever possible to determine if Soto is serious about possibly playing home games in Queens or simply wants to drive up his own price before he ultimately returns to the Yankees after he enjoyed his time with the Bronx Bombers this past season.
