5 future bidding wars we could see between the Mets and Yankees

Free agency bidding wars between the New York Mets and New York Yankees are often an expectation every winter. Each made an attempt at Yoshinobu Yamamoto this past winter. Neither was successful.

What about the future? We shouldn’t expect either team to go away quietly. As players become free agents, both clubs will get heavily involved. And it’s these five future free agent bidding wars we can already expect to see happen.

1) Juan Soto

The Mets going after Juan Soto in free agency next offseason won’t cross any line. Although there seems to be some sort of an agreement between the two New York clubs about targeting each other’s players, Soto is fair game. He’s not an original Yankee or someone who spent multiple years with them. He’s likely to be a one-and-done with only the possibility of re-signing after asking around the league.

Soto has long been a fantasy for Mets fans to call Citi Field home. Familiar enough with him from his many years with the Washington Nationals, the possibility of a trade from them or the San Diego Padres never came to fruition. He did find his way to New York. It’s just in the wrong borough.

The amount of money Soto will get in free agency is going to top anything either club has paid a player in the past. Do the Yankees care about making Soto the highest paid player over Aaron Judge? What about the Mets and Francisco Lindor? Surely both players will understand.

In either case, Soto is someone we should fully expect both teams to do some battling over.

The Prediction: Juan Soto ends up with the Los Angeles Dodgers because why not?

2) Pete Alonso

Here’s where the line gets crossed, if there even is one. Pete Alonso is a homegrown Met. The Yankees outbidding the Mets for him would be similar to Steve Cohen giving Judge the highest offer last offseason. There are certain players the two teams would probably want to stay away from although there is no rule against it nor should we expect them to always play so kindly.

Alonso is a match for the Yankees next winter as a replacement for Anthony Rizzo. If they were to lose Soto to the Mets or anyone else, it’s an obvious pivot for them to make.

Would Alonso actually stay in New York and choose the other team? One might view it as a heel turn of epic proportions. It’s different than Curtis Granderson going from the Yankees to the Mets. Pete has been nothing but a Met. The resentment would be unforgivable by some.

Fortunately, the only way Alonso ends up with the Yankees is if the Mets completely pass or low-ball him to the point where the anger turns on the front office. Many have speculated about whether or not Alonso fits into how David Stearns builds his teams. On one hand, he hasn’t valued first base enough in the past with the Milwaukee Brewers. Often employing platoons with Daniel Vogelbach in the mix, it’s not a fair assessment of what he’ll do moving forward. 

The Prediction: Pete Alonso is traded in the middle of 2024 to someone we don't think needs him right now and signs with the Chicago Cubs in the offseason.

3) Zac Gallen

A non-Mets or Yankees player who should make sense for both clubs in the future is Zac Gallen. The 2024 season will be his age 28 campaign. On the verge of winning a Cy Young, he’s one of the biggest reasons why the Arizona Diamondbacks found themselves in the 2023 World Series. Still rather fresh to his role as big league ace, he’ll become available after the 2025 season.

It’s hard to tell exactly what the Mets and Yankees rotations will look like by this point. The Mets have openings now, but will they remain by the time we get to this point? The Yankees may only get in on the action if Gerrit Cole opts out. They’ll still have Carlos Rodon making $27.83 million for a couple more seasons and Marcus Stroman for an even shorter period making $9 million less per year.

Gallen is far more likely to end up with the Mets than the Yankees because of all of the money already poured into what will become an aging rotation by the time he reaches free agency—if he does at all. The Diamondbacks need to prioritize extending him now. However, with the massive increase in how much pitchers of average ability are getting paid, Gallen shouldn’t be too shy about holding out. Two years isn’t a long time to wait. Knowing the Mets will have availability should be tempting for the South Jersey native.

The Prediction: Zac Gallen ends up pitching for some random team that decides they need a ringer. Will the Washington Nationals be good by then?

4) Kodai Senga

Wait, what? If you thought Kodai Senga was under team control for five years, you missed the opt out in his contract following the 2025 campaign.

Senga looks like a massive bargain after his first year in the big leagues. At just $15 million, he’s someone who’d be more than eager to test the open market again with some proof he can handle the big leagues. The only way he doesn’t use the opt out is if he’s terrible in which case we’d be dissatisfied anyway.

When it comes to playing kindly with each other, Senga doesn’t cross a line because he came over as an international free agent. The Yankees aren’t breaking any sacred bond by stealing him from the Mets. He’s fair game.

Familiarity with New York will make the Yankees tempting to Senga if he was to get a better offer from them. When he hits free agency it’ll be right before his age 33 season which won’t earn him a massive deal like Gallen will get, but certainly warrants a higher AAV. If the Mets did let him walk, it would be because they have a replacement. He’s someone we’d already love to see stay, but can understand if he ends up somewhere else. By the time he can opt out, we’d expect the Mets have already signed one of the 2024-2025 free agent starting pitchers anyway.

The Prediction: Kodai Senga opts out and after a lot of speculation ends up pitching for a West Coast team that isn’t the Los Angeles Dodgers. San Francisco Giants? Let's throw them a bone.