The Juan Soto sweepstakes came to an end on Sunday night. The prodigious 26-year-old has made his choice and his choice will make him the new King of Queens. Yes, Soto spurned the vaunted Yankees for the crosstown Mets.
You read that right — Soto signed a 15-year, $765 million deal. No deferred money. On the eve of baseball’s Winter Meetings, Soto and his agent Scott Boras took over and made their mark. So how did we get here? Former Marlins president David Samson broke it down on Monday’s edition of Nothing Personal with David Samson.
David says Juan Soto’s entire life was a precursor to this moment. He says that when you choose Scott Boras as your agent you are choosing one thing — money! Forget the love of Monument Park in the Bronx, or stepping into the same batter’s box as Ted Williams and Big Papi in Boston’s iconic Fenway Park. David says when you’ve chosen Boras to represent you, that shows you’re choosing one thing — money. And David says there is nothing wrong with that, he’s never begrudged anyone for choosing Boras to represent them. But you know what he does begrudge? People who don’t understand what the players are doing! They’re not stupid, it’s a purposeful choice, Samson says.
Just look at the recent history. Soto got offered a 12-year, $440 million extension from the team that drafted him, the Nationals. He bet on himself, which led to a trade to the West Coast with the Padres. Even after falling in love with Padres ownership and the organization, Samson points out there was rumors of trouble in the clubhouse and no title. So it’s on to the Bronx and a love affair with New York with the Yankees thinking they’ve found their next Hall of Famer and inhabitant of Monument Park. David says the Yankees were ready to do for Soto what they’ve been unwilling to do for any other player in recent history, including for Aaron Judge. Judge, Samson says, had loyalty to the Pinstripes. Soto, on the other hand, never had loyalty to the Pinstripes or any other laundry he’s worn. Anyone paying attention to Soto and Boras, he says, knows that. But, David points out that fans get drawn in by the beauty, the passion, by James Earl Jones in Field of Dreams. But, he says those are voices and adjectives NOT used by Soto and Boras.
So it went to an auction, which David says was the plan from Day 1. And guess what? A new bidder entered the game four years ago, flush with cash. A new bidder ready to slap down his credit card and pick up his paddle. That bidder? Mets owner Steve Cohen. The billionaire owner doesn’t care that people think the Mets could never compete with the Yankees in New York or anywhere else, he’ll bet on his Mets. New owneritis, as David puts it, had Cohen promising a World Series title in three to five years, but it was a lot harder than he thought. Now, after a miraculous run to the NLCS, the Mets are so close Cohen can taste it. Amid all the good free agents available, there was just one Cohen really wanted. And guess, what? He got his man.
David says Cohen is at the part of his ownership where he feels like his team needs to take the next step, because he wants to have his social media people send out the clip of him promising a title and say mission accomplished. He wants to be right, he wants to be the King of New York. David says men like Steve Cohen when they see something they want see no difference between a piece of art or a baseball player with the irony being that a piece of art doesn’t decline.
“The 26-year-old Juan Soto is a Picasso. the 40-year-old Soto is a Samson,” David says. “But it doesn’t matter because (the) next part of his plan, it doesn’t end with Juan Soto.”
So Juan Soto got his money and now can focus on building his legacy. The Mets’ World Series odds on DraftKings Sportsbook went from +1400 before the signing to +800 after landing Soto on Sunday night. But as David points out, it doesn’t stop with this deal. It doesn’t stop with A-Rod, it didn’t stop with Judge and it didn’t stop with Shohei Ohtani. There will be another next big contract. Wait to see.
Watch or listen to the full show below and tune into Nothing Personal with David Samson weekday mornings from 10-11 a.m. ET on DraftKings Network! See more about how to watch DraftKings Network here.
SHOW BREAKDOWN
Mets sign Juan Soto to $765 MILLION deal! LARGEST CONTRACT IN SPORTS HISTORY! What do the Yankees, Red Sox, Blue Jays do?
Today’s word of the day is ‘precursor’ as in Juan Soto as in the Mets as in the Yankees as in Scott Boras as in record-setting as in Steve Cohen. The New York Mets have signed Juan Soto for $765 million. WHAT!? The largest contract in the history of professional sports! Steve Cohen said he was going to spend and spend and spend to win a ring and this Soto signing is a huge step! Promises kept! (18:50) What do the other MLB teams do now? Yankees? Red Sox? Blue Jays? (34:00) Review: A Different Man. (38:20) Is there going to be a push for a salary cap in MLB now? The Dodgers and Mets are spending WAY more than the bottom half of the league. (42:50) Let’s talk some NFL! The Jets are a disaster! Josh Allen will win the MVP! The Giants STINK! (51:10)
VIDEO
Watch Nothing Personal with David Samson every weekday on Samsung TV Plus, Roku, Xumo Play, Google TV and DraftKingsNetwork.com from 10-11 a.m. ET. The show is also available via audio on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also follow David Samson on X at @DavidPSamson.
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