After seemingly having an agreement to sign with the New York Mets, international prospect Elian Soto, the brother of MVP candidate Juan Soto, reportedly committed his future to the Washington Nationals, Juan’s team.
Elian is a 16-year-old third baseman/outfielder: while he is promising, he is not projected to be a star.
Either way, reports had the Nationals’ offer being superior than that of the Mets.
He is not eligible to officially sign until January 2023.
While the decision to sign with the Nationals has some logic behind it, since his brother plays in the same organization, they may not even share the same field by the time Elian is ready to contribute at the MLB level.
The Mets Could Be Ready To Offer Juan Soto A Monster Deal
The Mets’ pursuit of Elian, however, is pretty telling.
MLB Network’s Jon Heyman had some thoughts on the situation: “Interesting the Mets pursued Juan Soto’s brother Elian so enthusiastically before Elian decided he’d sign with his superstar brother’s Nats. Elian is not considered a huge prospect, Could their efforts be a tell regarding Mets’ interest in Juan Soto?,” he tweeted.
Interesting the Mets pursued Juan Soto’s brother Elian so enthusiastically before Elian decided he’d sign with his superstar brother’s Nats. Elian is not considered a huge prospect, Could their efforts be a tell regarding Mets’ interest in Juan Soto?
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) February 17, 2022
In fact, the Mets have become quite the destination for free agents in the last couple of seasons.
They now have the wealthiest owner in MLB in Steve Cohen, and they could be ready to offer Juan a huge contract once he reaches free agency after the 2024 season, when he is 26.
He could always sign an extension with the Nationals, but he has said recently that he prefers to go year by year and then reach free agency.
The Mets could be serious players for Soto, and they may have pursued his brother to offer another incentive to him.
NEXT: NBA Star Urges Juan Soto To Sign With The Mets