10 Winners and losers from Juan Soto’s shocking defection to New York Mets, including Aaron Judge and Brian Cashman

After years of being the red-headed stepchild in New York baseball, the Mets have the ultimate trump card in owner Steve Cohen. He is the richest franchise boss in MLB and has shown his financial might in the past. However, on Sunday night he showed the money truly is no object if he has an acquisition he desperately wants.

Who knows if Soto will truly be worth anywhere near what he is being paid for the next 15 years? However, if he helps to end the club’s nearly 50-year World Series slump during that time — and adds another — he will be worth every cent in the mind of New York fans and their diehard Mets-loving owner.

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It’s no coincidence that Aaron Judge had a career year being able to bat behind Soto. Furthermore, his awful playoff performance was overshadowed by the outstanding play of Soto and Giancarlo Stanton. Now, with the four-time All-Star out of the picture, all of the pressure is back on the team captain.

If he fails miserably in the postseason in the years ahead, it could easily make fans turn on their top star. Especially if Juan Soto leads the Mets to a championship before the Yankees.

New York Mets fans were taken on a magical ride in October. Sure, the clock hit midnight and the Dodgers ended their journey, but it gave fans hope they may have a contender on their hands. With the team on an upswing, their owner went out and got one of the best players in the game, and he is just entering his prime.

Not only that, they took him away from in-city rivals the Yankees. Soto doesn’t guarantee a title in 2025. However, he is a major piece that makes them an even more serious threat to the Dodgers.

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While Yankees general manager Brian Cashman was able to persuade Aaron Judge to return a couple of seasons ago, that pitch didn’t work this time. And a case could be made this was the bidding war the franchise needed to win even more after seeing how Soto played in the postseason. Furthermore, he gave up some good young pieces — like pitcher Michael King — that ended up being a one year rental.

There is already a lot of pressure on Cashman as the Yankees championship drought closes in on 20 years. Losing the Soto chase to the Mets of all teams is sure to make ownership ponder if he is the man to lead the team into the next decade.

Francisco Lindor has had some big ups and downs during his four seasons with the New York Mets. Part of it was the fact that he didn’t perform up to the level of his massive $341 million contract. However, his performance in 2024 as the team’s top player and leader forever endeared him to fans.

But, now, a lot of the pressure is off. His contract looks like a bargain next to Soto’s, and fans and the front office will place the spotlight on the outfielder to bring the franchise its first title since 1986. Lindor just got some huge help in bringing New York a title but a lot a lot of the headache that comes with the journey.

Related: New York Mets sign former Yankees All-Star to multi-year deal, but it’s not Juan Soto

Let’s be honest, Juan Soto saved Aaron Boone’s job this season. If the Yankees don’t make the playoffs of get to the season the organization probably lets him walk after this year. However, the young superstar was a key player on one of the best teams in baseball and a team that reached the season.

But now the four-time All-Star is gone. And the manager will have to match that success with a different group. Few players are as good when it matters as Soto. And the manager is likely to find out fast in 2025.

The sports world was shocked by the massive $700 million deal the Dodgers gave Shohei Ohtani this time last year. However, after Soto passed that by five years and $65 million, Ohtani’s pact is looking like a solid deal.

He helped lead the team to a title in his first season. He will gain even more value when he gets back to pitching in 2025. And Los Angeles reportedly made boatloads of cash off the field due to his mass appeal nationally and in Japan. Juan Soto’s new contract just made Shohei Ohtani’s look reasonable.

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Sure, New York Yankees fans are spoiled. But they are a devoted and diehard bunch who know baseball. But this was a devastating loss for the franchise. Maybe they go out and sign Alex Bregman and Max Fried to make up for Soto’s loss. However, fans already knew what they had in the 26-year-old and it was a perfect fit in New York.

Now they will have to hope general manager Brian Cashman can retool the lineup without him and hope it is good enough to get back to the World Series in 2025. Chances are, Yankees fans probably don’t have a lot of hope in that happening now.

Nobody won more in the Juan Soto sweepstakes than Juan Soto. The outfielder is a very talented player and could get better. But he is not the best player in the game and wasn’t the best on the Yankees during the regular season. Yet he and his agent, Scott Boras, still were able to use a handful of wealthy clubs to make him the richest player in baseball. That is winning at its finest.