Philadelphia Phillies Lose Superstar Offseason Target To Division Rival

The Philadelphia Phillies have acquired a lot of superstars over the past few years, from Bryce Harper and Trea Turner to Zack Wheeler and Kyle Schwarber.
This time, however, they watched one of the best players in baseball sign with a different team instead.
On Sunday night, news broke that Juan Soto and the New York Mets had agreed to a stunning 15-year, $765 million contract -- the largest deal in professional sports history.
Not only did the Phillies lose out on Soto, who they briefly pursued earlier in the offseason, but they also lost him to a division rival.
If Soto stays with the Mets for the duration of his megadeal (he can opt out after 2029), he'll spend the next 15 years terrorizing Philadelphia pitchers and helping New York win baseball games.
Breaking: Juan Soto and the New York Mets are in agreement on a 15-year, $765 million contract, sources tell @jeffpassan.
— ESPN (@espn) December 9, 2024
It is the largest deal in professional sports history. pic.twitter.com/JjwUbhEIpn
Phillies fans are already plenty familiar with Soto, who started his career in the NL East with the Washington Nationals. He played there from 2018 to 2022 before they traded him to the San Diego Padres, helping the Nationals win their first-ever World Series title in 2019.
Soto returned to the World Series in 2024 with the New York Yankees, only to fall short against the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Mets are hoping he can get them to the Fall Classic as well after losing to the Dodgers in the NLCS.
After winning 89 games and finishing six games behind first-place Philadelphia in the standings last season, New York is poised to challenge the Phillies in the NL East for years to come. Soto is in the prime of his career at age 26 and is coming off a monster season with the Yankees where he batted .288/.419/.569 with 7.9 WAR and a career-high 41 home runs.
While Soto was always a long shot to sign with Philadelphia (who never met with him or offered him a contract), Phillies fans were hoping he would re-sign with the Yankees and stay out of the National League.
Unfortunately, that wasn't the case.