Juan Soto Contract Shows MLB Owners Are Lying About Crying Poor

Juan Soto will soon be officially announced as a member of the New York Mets after agreeing to a massive, record-setting new 15-year, $765 million deal. The headline number is jaw dropping enough, easily exceeding the present day value of Shohei Ohtani's contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers by over $300 million. And with built-in escalators, the total guarantee could exceed $800 million, per several reports. 

Soto was a unique free agent; inarguably one of the top 2-3 hitters in baseball, reaching free agency before his age-26 season, and with uncommon certainty given his consistently elite offensive track record. Still, it's an incredible contract number, especially considering Soto's extremely poor defense and baserunning skills. And beyond making several star players now look like a relative bargain, it highlights another important truth.

There is an incredible amount of money being generated across Major League Baseball, and outside of a few exceptions, owners are refusing to spend it.

Oct 30, 2024; New York, New York, USA; New York Yankees third baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. (13), outfielder Alex Verdugo (24), outfielder Juan Soto (22) and outfielder Aaron Judge (99) during the first inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers in game five of the 2024 MLB World Series at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

No small market teams were involved in the Soto bidding; per most reports, the five finalists were the Dodgers, Mets, New York Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays and Boston Red Sox. Those are all wealthier organizations compared to say, the Kansas City Royals or Pittsburgh Pirates.

Still, the biggest free agency contract ever handed out by the Pirates was Francisco Liriano in 2015 for three years and