Steve Cohen handed out the biggest contract in sports history this winter, and now the New York Mets owner is explaining why.
In December, Cohen and the Mets won the free agency bidding war for Juan Soto. They inked the 26-year-old slugger to a 15-year, $765 million contract that is likely to keep him in Queens for the rest of his MLB career.
Sports Illustrated's Tom Verducci released an extensive article covering Soto and the Mets on Tuesday and in it, Cohen explains exactly why he went all-in to sign Soto.
"I look at it pretty simply," Cohen said. "There wasn’t going to be another player like him on the market maybe in the next five, six, seven years. So this really was an opportunity to bring someone in at an age where you were getting him in his prime years. It’s pretty rare. I mean, we already had a pretty good club. This was an opportunity to get a special player in an opportunity that may not exist for a while."
That's a fair assessment. Other than Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani, there is no other left-handed hitter in baseball who impacts games the way Soto does. The four-time All-Star is currently fifth all-time in walk rate and 17th all-time in on-base percentage while carrying a career .953 OPS, which is third among active players behind Aaron Judge (1.010) and Mike Trout (.991).
Soto didn't make his decision to join the Mets lightly as he gathered with his family to come to a conclusion. The Mets won out, largely because of Cohen's investment in the franchise and Soto's belief in the team's long-term future. They edged their crosstown rival New York Yankees who began the process as the No. 1 team in Soto's mind.
In the end, Cohen was willing to give Soto a record-breaking contract because of how rare and impactful he is.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Mets Owner Steve Cohen Explains Why Juan Soto Is Worth His Enormous Contract.
