Juan Soto signs 15-year, $765M megadeal with New York Mets, breaks Shohei Ohtani’s record | MLB News – Times of India

Juan Soto, the baseball prodigy, has made history by securing the largest contract in the sport’s history. His blend of power and personality puts him at the center stage of the baseball world for the last few years. The 26-year-old outfielder signed a $765 million deal with the New York Mets for 15 years, thereby making him the highest-paid player in baseball history. The news confirmed by Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic and initially reported by the New York Post, this deal comes with a huge $75 million signing bonus.
Juan Soto’s Historic $765 Million Deal
This gargantuan deal turns Soto to the new standard for player compensation, but it even reshapes the financial landscape of Major League Baseball. The contract includes an alarming average annual salary of $51 million and breaks the previous record of Shohei Ohtani. Although the contract of Ohtani with the Los Angeles Dodgers is worth $700 million, its present-day worth is very close to $460 million, because a huge part of the contract was deferred.

He performed consistently as he made his debut in 2018. In seven seasons in the majors, Soto has registered four All-Stars and five Silver Sluggers. Among the accolades earned was that of a 20-year-old, winning a World Series title in 2019 with the Washington Nationals, and then winning a batting title in 2020.
Not merely a slugger, Soto is popularly known for his extraordinary patience at bat. Since his debut, he has led all players in on-base percentage (.421). He is notorious for working walks. Soto’s dramatic plate appearances, often highlighted by his trademark “Soto Shuffle,” have turned into quite the spectacle. An approach that has him outlasting pitchers and forcing them to throw to his terms is characteristic of making him a unique presence in any lineup.

It wasn’t a straight road to New York for Soto. In 2022, he turned down a 15-year, $440 million extension that would have prolonged his contract with the Washington Nationals, unwilling to tie the future of his career to a rebuilding group. A subsequent trade to the San Diego Padres set him on a pathway to a 2023 season with the New York Yankees, where Soto flourished in complement with Aaron Judge and cemented his position among the sport’s greatest.
Now he has the chance and platform to make his efforts seen by the world. Soto’s talent and his agent Scott Boras’ strategy has given the result and now Soto has an historic paycheck in his hand. The Mets will look for Soto’s service in stronger ways from 2025 and beyond. And fans of this prodigy think that he will be able to live up to the expectation.