New detail about Mets' Juan Soto visit makes clear New York is the team to beat

With just a couple of weeks to go until the start of Winter Meetings, the Juan Soto sweepstakes are getting down to brass tacks. After meeting with teams earlier this month, the outfielder and his agent, Scott Boras, have reportedly begun receiving preliminary offers, with further negotiations set to take place in the coming days.

But while there's been endless speculation about where Soto's leaning or which team he might choose, we're still largely in the dark; there's no way to know exactly what the outfielder values, how much he's asking for, what each team is willing to offer or what will ultimately help decide one of the biggest free agencies in the history of the sport. Until Tuesday afternoon, that is, when a detail emerged that could tip Soto's hand — and showed that one team might be viewed a little more favorably than the rest.

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Juan Soto reportedly met with Mets at Steve Cohen's California mansion

It seemed as though there wasn't a ton to glean from Soto's initial meetings with the New York Yankees, New York Mets, Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Dodgers. From every available report, he and Boras had good conversations with each respective front office, all of whom made strong pitches and laid out their visions for long-term success.

As it turns out, though, those meetings were not in fact equal. Four teams came to Soto, visiting with him at Boras' compound in Southern California. The Mets, however, got Soto to come to them: According to Chris "Mad Dog" Russo and Jon Heyman, the 26-year-old visited the Beverly Hills mansion of owner Steve Cohen.

Maybe that's nothing; Hal Steinbrenner doesn't have a home in the area that he could've hosted Soto and Boras in even if they wanted to make the trip. But the Dodgers could very easily have welcomed Soto anywhere, but instead made the trek to Boras' offices just like everyone else. It feels significant that Soto is apparently comfortable enough with Cohen and the Mets that he was willing to make a house call; if nothing else, it would seem to help Cohen build the more intimate relationship with the outfielder that he's reportedly looking for with whatever owner he commits to for the next decade-plus.

There's still a long way to go here. But in addition to having the financial might that would allow him to outbid anyone and everyone if he decides he wants to, it would appear that Cohen is also equally adept at the wining and dining portion of free agency, would spells trouble for the rest of the league.