For more than a year, the New York Mets have been pursuing Juan Soto. In fact, Steve Cohen even promised to take a less salary (by his standards) in 2024 in the hopes of winning Soto this winter.

The Soto hunt has proceeded pretty much as Cohen had anticipated. The Red Sox and Blue Jays are in the background, while the Yankees and Mets are probably the front-runners for him. A Yankees star seldom switches sides in their Subway Series rivalry, and the Mets have the most money to spend on Soto. I mean a real star in this context, and Soto would undoubtedly fit the bill.

The Mets and Cohen are anticipated to make one of the higher offers for Soto. The 26-year-old will ultimately have to choose between leaving a Yankees legacy and the money he could make in Queens by signing with the organization. There isn’t much of a difference in mileage. They are very different in terms of prestige.

The Mets said The MLB is embarrassed by Juan Soto’s offer.
Let’s speak a lot about the reported offers from the Mets. A Soto contract alone might exceed some teams’ entire budget because Spotify reportedly had an AAV of $50 million, with little of that amount deferred like Shohei Ohtani’s contract with the Dodgers.

MLB is having issues. Too many small-market team owners are more concerned with turning a huge profit than putting a quality product on the field. There are many more clubs like that, and the Marlins are only one of them.

Neither Soto nor the Mets are the issue here. In exchange for luxury tax money and media revenue, these privileged owners are prepared to see the on-field product degrade. In a perfect world, Rob Manfred would ban these people from the league because it is unacceptable.

Naturally, our world is not perfect. Instead of a cap, a salary floor might be the answer. If established at a reasonable quantity, forcing teams to spend a specific amount of money on the squad would have an effect. For once, the Tampa Bay Rays, Miami Marlins, and Pittsburgh Pirates may have to make a purchase.

There are two kinds of MLB teams, as demonstrated by Soto and Ohtani’s offseasons, but it will never go away. With each passing season, the gap between those two widens.

The Mets have urgent problems outside of the Juan Soto chase going into the Winter Meetings.

Juan Soto, where are you going?

It’s a topic that started to be asked long before the previous season finished, and it hasn’t been answered as MLB prepares for its largest yearly gathering, the winter meetings.

The Mets, whose offseason will be significantly influenced by the All-Star outfielder’s decision, can directly relate to Soto’s response. According to industry sources, Soto’s target market consists of the Dodgers, Red Sox, Blue Jays, Yankees, and Mets.

Jon Heyman of the Post said on Saturday that the Yankees and Mets had made offers between $710 million and $730 million.

The Mets will be hopeful that an answer is close when the informal meetings get underway in Dallas on Sunday, giving team officials the opportunity to plan the remainder of their offseason.

The Mets had to wait for decisions from Yoshinobu Yamamoto, whom they courted aggressively, and Shohei Ohtani, whom they never really sought, before deciding on a course of action last winter. In the end, both talents joined the Dodgers.

Soto is now awaited by the Mets.

At the Mets’ winter meetings, the pursuit of Soto is at the top of the list. Here are four more:

Speaking with Alonso about turkey
If Soto’s condition is resolved, the Mets will be able to pursue Pete Alonso, another of Scott Boras’ major clients.

Alonso’s free agency would be making headlines locally in a typical offseason, one in which there would not be a player of Soto’s caliber available.

However, after the Mets’ final game in October, when the first baseman once more stated his wish to stay with the only team he has ever known, everything has remained quiet on the Alonso front.

The question is: will Soto joining the Mets make it more likely that Alonso will return, or less likely?

On the one side, Cohen could put Soto between Mark Vientos and Francisco Lindor, with potential short-term options for first base, but he would have already spent an incredible sum of money to fix the lineup.

On the other hand, if you sign a player of Soto’s caliber, why not bring back a beloved player who hit 37 home runs the previous season to really get the crowd excited?

Completing the rotation
To round out a rotation that has gained parts in recent weeks, the Mets will try to add at least one, if not two, starting pitchers.

In addition to Kodai Senga and David Peterson, the Mets are acquiring two low-risk players: Frankie Montas (two years, $34 million) and Clay Holmes (three years, $38 million).

Jose Butto, Paul Blackburn, and Tylor Megill are also included.

The Mets may consider players like Walker Buehler or Mike Soroka, who are working to rebuild their value, but it would be surprising if they pursued stars like Corbin Burnes or Max Fried. Meanwhile, Blake Snell, a starter in that elite category, recently secured a five-year, $182 million deal with the Dodgers.

Sean Manaea’s potential salary could far exceed the three-year, $67 million contract his former rotation mate Luis Severino signed with the A’s last week, particularly after Manaea’s ace-like performance for the Mets in the latter half of last season.

Talk about trade
This offseason, the Mets made one noteworthy trade: they acquired Jose Siri from the Rays last month, effectively replacing Harrison Bader in center field.

Without giving up top prospects, might the Mets find a deal for pitchers or a possible DH?

If the Mets were to acquire Soto, the X factor would be where Starling Marte, who is about to reach the last year of his deal, may fit.

In order to add a less expensive fifth outfielder to Soto, Brandon Nimmo, Tyrone Taylor, and Siri, the Mets may try to trade Marte.

Whether or when Alonso returns will likely determine Brett Baty’s future with the Mets.

Mark Vientos would stay at third base and probably squeeze out Baty if Alonso were to re-sign.

However, the Mets could try to increase Baty’s trade worth while keeping him at Triple-A.