(Reuters) – Juan Soto, a four-time Major League Baseball All-Star and the biggest prize of the offseason, has agreed to a record 15-year, $765 million contract with the New York Mets, ESPN reported on Sunday, citing sources.
A precocious hitting talent, the 26-year-old Soto enjoyed a career year with the New York Yankees in 2024 as he set career highs in a number of categories, including runs, hits, home runs, total bases and extra-base hits.
The Dominican slugger went on to finish third in American League MVP voting last month as Yankees teammate Aaron Judge won the award in unanimous fashion.
The Yankees had acquired Soto last December as part of a blockbuster seven-player trade.
Soto and Judge formed a dynamic duo in the Bronx and helped power the Yankees to their first World Series appearance in 15 years. They lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-1 in the best-of-seven championship series.
Soto’s contract with the Mets is the largest in professional sports history, eclipsing the 10-year, $700 million contact the Los Angeles Dodgers signed Shohei Ohtani to last winter, according to ESPN.
(Reporting by Amy Tennery in New York and Rory Carroll in Los Angeles, Additional reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto; Editing by Sonali Paul)
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