Baseball

I thought he'd be a Met. No deferred money. That's a lot of money for a below-average fielder. If Mannfred goes along with the golden at-bat rule, Soto's value as a hitter increases.

The deal, which the Mets have not confirmed because it’s pending a physical, contains a $75 million signing bonus, an opt-out after five seasons and no deferred money. The Mets will have the ability to void Soto’s opt-out clause after the 2029 season if they boost the average annual value of the final 10 years of his deal from $51 million to $55 million, according to a source. In that case, the overall deal would be for 15 years and $805 million -- a $53.66 million AAV.

As a Jays fan, I'm glad Soto is out of the AL East. Soto getting this much adds to Vladdy's already large amount of leverage with the Blue Jays's front office, who are between a rock and a hard place due to their series of bad moves.