First Pitch: Mets little brother tag officially gone after stealing Juan Soto

The New York Mets officially signed Juan Soto to a 15-year deal worth $765 million on the first night of the Winter Meetings. Soto fetched the largest contract a professional athlete has ever received, and the Mets made the biggest move in the franchise's 62-year history. If I'm being honest, it still doesn't feel real.

There's no underestimating just how big of a deal this is. The Mets signed Juan Soto, one of the best players in baseball, to a deal that will likely cover the remainder of his playing career. What makes this even crazier is that Soto is only 26 years old. He hasn't even reached his prime yet. Not only will he likely be the last Met to ever wear No. 22, but when Soto gets to the Hall of Fame, he will almost certainly go in with a Mets hat on his plaque.

Signing a player of Soto's caliber is a franchise-altering move in any situation, but this signing in particular just feels different. Several reasons go into that.

For more news and rumors, check out MLB Insider Robert Murray’s work on The Baseball Insiders podcast, subscribe to The Moonshot, our weekly MLB newsletter, and join the discord to get the inside scoop during the MLB offseason.

Signing Juan Soto means the little brother label can officially be removed from Mets

Ever since they became an MLB franchise back in 1962, the Mets have been dubbed as 'little brothers' to the New York Yankees, and rightfully so. The Yankees are the team with the best history of any in professional sports, and despite playing in the largest media market in the world, the Mets have just two World Series wins under their belt.

The Yankees being the team that they are often meant that the Mets were the butt of all jokes. Even Saturday Night Live poked fun at the Mets the day before Soto opted to sign with them. Well, who's laughing now?

The Mets signing Juan Soto away from the Yankees doesn't give the Mets the 25 World Series wins that they'd need to bridge the gap between themselves and their crosstown rivals, but it certainly makes one thing clear - they aren't exactly 'little brother' anymore, especially with Steve Cohen at the helm.

Soto is the kind of player that the Yankees seemingly always have. He's just 26 years old and wrapped up a season that not only saw him finish as an AL MVP finalist but lead his team to the AL Pennant. Remember, Aaron Judge wasn't the one who hit the Pennant-clinching home run - that was Juan Soto. He had the opportunity to help lead the Yankees for the better part of two decades and see his number end up in Monument Park alongside a slew of other legends, yet he chose the Mets.

Soto is a player the Yankees bid $760 million for. They wanted him desperately. Other big market teams entered the bidding as well. He was coveted by any team that could realistically afford him. Again, he chose the Mets, and he did that over the team he was dominant with.

The history is what it is, and this signing doesn't guarantee a World Series win or even a World Series appearance, but in 2025 and beyond, the Mets should not be looked down upon when being discussed in the same conversation as the Yankees. The team stealing Soto away from the Bronx Bombers proves that.

The Mets are finally a destination thanks to much more than Juan Soto

Bidding the most money like the Mets did with Soto certainly put them in a good position to end up signing the player, but bidding the most money is far from the end-all-be-all.

Just last offseason, the Mets were very in on Yoshinobu Yamamoto before he signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Dodgers matched New York's offer of 12 years and $325 million, and the Mets were never given another chance to top the offer. Clearly, Yamamoto wanted to be a Dodger.

In the 2021 offseason - the offseason that saw the Mets sign Max Scherzer, Mark Canha, Starling Marte, and Eduardo Escobar - Kevin Gausman reportedly took less money to sign with the Toronto Blue Jays. Clearly, Gausman wanted to be a Blue Jay and wanted little to do with being a Met.

Soto signed a 15-year deal to join the Mets. If he thought he wouldn't be happy with the Mets, he would've signed a deal worth a whole lot of money elsewhere. If it was all about the money, he would've given the Yankees another chance to match. Soto wanted to be a Met and saw more than just money when making his decision. Choosing them over the Yankees is just the icing on the cake and proves that they're a team that even the game's brightest stars in the middle of their prime will want to go to.

Mets are set up to go on the greatest run in the franchise's history

The Mets shocked the world by not only getting to the postseason in what was supposed to be a 'reset' year, but they made it all the way to the NLCS. They were two wins against what was clearly the best team in baseball shy from winning the Pennant. That same team has added Juan Soto.

Soto gives the Mets a chance to do something that they've never really been able to do over the course of their history - win sustainably. The Mets have had good years here and there, but going on a run and building the kind of dynasty that Soto and Cohen envision hasn't been done.

The Mets have made the postseason a total of 11 times in their history. They've done a good job getting to the World Series when they've made the playoffs, as they've accomplished that feat five times in those 11 years, but reaching October has been a struggle. They've made the postseason in consecutive years just once. Soto joining the Mets organization gives them an opportunity to do so much more often.

The Mets have a core consisting of guys like Francisco Lindor, Brandon Nimmo, Mark Vientos, Kodai Senga, and Edwin Diaz capable of competing for several years to come. They have a president of baseball operations in David Stearns who did seemingly nothing but get to the postseason during his time with the Milwaukee Brewers and built an unexpected winner in his first year in Queens. They have an owner willing to spend more than any other team.

Despite the uneven results since Cohen's arrival, the Mets have ranked in the top three in baseball in total payroll in each of his four seasons. Despite the 2024 campaign consisting of lower expectations, the Mets still had the highest payroll in all of baseball. No owner is more committed to winning.

A core being led by two MVP-caliber players combined with a savvy executive and the richest and most desperate owner makes for a situation that should lead to a whole lot of winning. More moves have to be made, but there's no reason to believe those won't come. Soto certainly believes those moves are coming.

World Series aren't won in December, but the Mets made the biggest signing in the franchise's history. It's the kind of move we've never seen this franchise make. It feels as if it'll lead to some amazing things over the next 15 years, which is more than I've been able to say in decades.