The Juan Soto trade dilemma

For the first time in what seems like a long time, the New York Mets are serious contenders in the National League and all of Major League Baseball. With that comes a significant time during the season known as the Trade Deadline. 

There is no doubt the Mets will be active players when it comes to trades.

The trade market has an influx of talented ball players, and many of them would fit right in Queens. One name that stands above them all is Washington Nationals OF Juan Soto.

He was recently put on the trade block after contract negotiations broke down in DC. The Nats putting him up for grabs has garnered interest from many teams including the Mets.

A Juan Soto trade sounds like a no-brainer for the Mets, but it does come with its own dilemma.

First off, the haul for Soto would be extremely expensive. He is under contract until 2025, which means that the team that’s trading for him will have to give up a lot of talent. Soto is a superstar talent after all and the Nationals will probably expect nothing but top 5 prospects

The Mets certainly have the talent in the minors to make a deal for Soto, leading off with the number one ranked prospect, Francisco Álvarez. Just because they have the pieces doesn’t necessarily mean they should make that deal.

This organization has finally gotten to the point where its minor league system is starting to climb up the rankings and the 2022 Draft, in which they had 5 picks in the top 100, only helped to make that case stronger.

Now let me say, I am by no means a prospect hugger. For every Tom Seaver, Doc Gooden, Darryl Strawberry, and David Wright there was a Paul Wilson, Lastings Milledge, Fernando Martinez, and Dilson Herrera.

I am all for trading prospects in the right deal and obviously trading for Juan Soto should mean that no one is off limits.

The problem for me, and the reason why I would not make this trade, goes beyond just trading prospects. You have to look at some other factors that could complicate and change the course of this team for a long time.

Soto is going to cost you not only prospects but a lot of money, and when I say a lot… I MEAN A LOT! We are talking about possibly the first player to make around $500m.

With Steve Cohen being the richest owner in baseball this shouldn’t even be an issue. However, if you meet these demands by Soto and his agent Scott Boras, where would there be money for the rest of the roster?

The Mets already are going into a big offseason at the end of the 2022 season. Edwin Diaz, Carlos Carrasco, Taijuan Walker, Brandon Nimmo, Chris Bassitt, and let me not forget Jacob deGrom will all be free agents at the end of the season. They will not be able to sign them all especially if Soto comes to Queens.

Even if Soto doesn’t sign an extension right away, and the Mets decide to wait until 2025 when he is a free agent, they still have to think about resigning their homegrown All-Stars in Pete Alonso and Jeff McNeil. Both are set to hit free agency when Soto does.  

This is a very complicated situation that needs some serious thought within the front office. In no way do I think they will make a deal at the trade deadline, but they could revisit it in the offseason if they like.

I think they should just wait until Soto becomes a free agent because we all know that Boras plans on getting him there and selling him to the highest bidder, one possibly being the New York Mets.