Neither he nor president of baseball operations David Stearns has given any indication that the team plans to step back this season, nor that it intends to drop under MLB's highest Competitive Balance Tax threshold. All this suggests the Mets can be major players for Soto.

He won't come cheap. Soto is at least going to want to approach, if not surpass Shohei Ohtani's record $700 million contract, which is worth a little more than $46 million annually in present-day money after factoring in its heavy deferrals. If he also matches the length of Bryce Harper's 13-year deal with the Phillies, Soto could draw contract offers north of $600 million in present-day money. It's a figure that would probably keep the Mets over the CBT for a long time to come.