Carlos Beltran confirms what most of the baseball world already knows: The New York Mets are all-in on Juan Soto.
“The Mets want to improve the team, and there is no doubt that they will go after free agents, especially Juan Soto, who everybody wants,” Beltran told Joseph Reboyras of Puerto Rican outlet Primera Hora. “The Mets will go full blast for him.”
Beltran joined the Mets’ front office prior to the 2023 season, and he currently serves as an assistant to president of baseball operations David Stearns.
Stearns, Mets owner Steve Cohen, and Francisco Lindor are in Los Angeles this week to meet with the 26-year-old superstar right fielder, who belted 41 home runs in his debut season with the Yankees after being acquired from the San Diego Padres last winter. Not only does Cohen’s deep pockets as the wealthiest owner in Major League Baseball make the Mets a front-runner for Soto, but they appear to be on the cusp of doing something they have never achieved as a franchise, and that is consistent postseason contention.
“[Cohen] is one of the wealthiest in the game and wants to win,” Beltran said. “When he tells the press that he wants to win, he doesn’t say it to rile up fans. It’s personal for him, and I got to see that being with the team this year.”
The Mets, who have roughly $100 million coming off their books this winter, obviously will have their fair share of competition. Soto already has meetings with the Toronto Blue Jays and the Yankees lined up, and big-market clubs like the Los Angeles Dodgers are also looming.
Soto is in line to sign one of the richest contracts in MLB history. He projected to make at least $600 million in his next deal but a bidding war could see it eclipse $700 million.
