Many fans roasted the New York Mets after the team’s decision to sign free agent Juan Soto to an historic contract, but it’s likely no one had a better time poking fun at the situation than MLB insiders Buster Olney and Jeff Passan.
Passan appeared on the Baseball Tonight with Buster Olney podcast Monday, and the two men could barely keep straight faces at times as they discussed the Mets’ decision to give Soto a record 15-year, $765 million contract to lure him from the New York Yankees, who offered a similar deal (16/$760 million, per Jon Heyman).
“Do we really believe,” Olney began, “that either Brian Cashman (Yankees GM) or David Stearns (Mets president baseball operations) is saying to their owner, ‘You know what? It’s a good baseball deal to give this guy $51 million when we know he’s probably going to be a DH for most of his career. There’s no chance that happens. This is all about the two owners.”
“It’s kind of amazing that the Yankees lost out on Juan Soto and might be better off at the end of the day,” Passan said.
“Oh, totally!” Olney said, laughing heartily.
“It’s one of those situations where the baseball people, Buster, they look at this, and they weren’t rooting for Soto not to sign with them … they weren’t rooting to lose on the Juan Soto sweepstakes, but it didn’t kill ’em all that much.
“And here’s the thing. This is not a good baseball deal.”
“No!” Olney said, getting another laugh.
“It’s just not, in the context of everything else in the sport, it is an exceptional overpay,” Passan continued. “But it also shows you that when a guy is 26 years old and the caliber of Juan Soto and he hits free agency, it’s a bonanza.”
On the podcast, https://t.co/fYcUOLa9S1 @JeffPassan talks about the Juan Soto deal pic.twitter.com/M9th88OrZZ
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) December 9, 2024
Passan went on to say that being young and talented is good news for a free agent.
“When you can combine talent and age, the world is your oyster,” he said.
Soto’s stunning new deal has brought all sorts of reactions from sport media. On First Take Monday, Rex Ryan opined that the MLB Players Association pressured Soto to take the deal. But as noted, no one seemed to have more fun discussing the deal than Olney and Passan.
[Buster Olney]
About Arthur Weinstein
Arthur spends his free time traveling around the U.S. to sporting events, state and national parks, and in search of great restaurants off the beaten path.