Juan Soto's gigantic Mets deal is an overpay that was necessary

This is For The Win’s daily newsletter, The Morning Win. Did a friend recommend or forward this to you? If so, subscribe here. Have feedback? Leave your questions, comments and concerns through this brief reader survey! Now, here’s Mike Sykes.

Good morning, Winners! Welcome back to the Morning Win. Thanks for reading today. We appreciate you.

Now that the dust has settled from the sticker shock of Juan Soto’s megadeal with the Mets, we’ve collectively moved on to the next stage: The backlash.

That’s typically how free agency works across sports. The star player hits the market. Then, the star player signs a huge contract we’ve never seen before. Fans see the headlines about the deal and are in awe. Then that awe turns into “Well, is this actually a good deal?” and that’s where we’re now.

Juan Soto is overpaid. At least, according to two of the premier baseball analysts in the zeitgeist, he is.

Buster Olney and Jeff Passan discussed how the Mets overpaid for Soto on the Baseball Tonight podcast.

“Do we really believe that either Brian Cashman (Yankees GM) or David Stearns (Mets president baseball operations) is saying to their owner, ‘You know what? It’s a good baseball deal to give this guy $51 million when we know he’s probably going to be a DH for most of his career,”  Olney said. “There’s no chance that happens. This is all about the two owners.”

Passan suggested that the Yankees might be “better off” long-term for missing out on Juan Soto. “This is not a good baseball deal. It’s just not. In the context of everything else in the sport, it is an exceptional overpay,” he said.

On the podcast, https://t.co/fYcUOLa9S1 @JeffPassan talks about the Juan Soto deal pic.twitter.com/M9th88OrZZ

— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) December 9, 2024

Here’s the thing: They’re absolutely right. This is an overpay.

Paying a guy $51 million annually for the next 15 years will certainly not make it easy to build the rest of the team out year after year moving forward. Unlike Ohtani’s megadeal last year, there are no deferrals there. This isn’t a “team-friendly” contract. It’s Juan Soto hitting the lottery.

But, guys. Let’s not overthink it. This is Juan Soto. He’s a 26-year-old slugger who is still a beast in the outfield and has one of the most unique batting styles we’ve seen. Even if he is a designated hitter in, say, five to seven years, so what? His OBP might still be stupidly good. He’s won’t magically suck in two years.

The Mets saw the opportunity to go get a guy that could get the franchise over the hump and Steve Cohen had the cash to make it happen. So why not go get the guy?

Sure, the Mets could’ve played it prudently and spread that money out a bit. But New York probably wasn’t going to win a World Series that way, either. As they say: Scared money doesn’t make money. And Steve Cohen has more money than anyone in that league. Might as well spend it!

Good on the Mets. Go win it all now.

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The Cowboys broke Micah Parsons

Boy, I cannot WAIT to hear Micah Parsons on his podcast this week. What are the chances he demands a trade? Gotta be a greater than zero percent chance after Monday Night Football.

I don’t even know how to describe the sequence that broke him. Our Mary Clarke did a fantastic job here, so I’ll let her handle it:

“The Bengals were set to punt the ball away after the two-minute warning when the Cowboys blocked the punt! However, the Cowboys made the unfortunate mistake of touching the ball after the block and not recovering it, meaning the Bengals got possession back with a chance to score for the lead.

And score they did, as the Bengals went right down the field and made the game 27-20, which is how the game ended when all was said and done.”

I, for one, didn’t even know you could muff a blocked punt. Anyway, that led to Parsons losing it on the sideline. He looks so confused. To be fair, we all were.

Micah Parsons literally can’t believe it pic.twitter.com/hRSIaeFRlp

— Jordan Dajani (@JordanDajani) December 10, 2024

What a way to lose.

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Was Karl-Anthony Towns born to be a Knick?

After Monday night’s game against the Raptors, it seems to be so. The game wasn’t anything special, really. But the moment that came after Towns hit a big shot to essentially seal the game felt like a pivotal one — at least in the scope of his career.

He hits the big 3-pointer and then points to his jersey.

Towns has been on the Knicks for months at this point, but this felt like the moment he became a Knick. 

Good for KAT, man. He’s been one of the most maligned NBA players in the league since being drafted. Folks questioned his personality fit when the Timberwolves traded him to New York. People didn’t think he could take the bright lights.

Seems to be fitting in well so far.

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Quick hits: The best moments from the Simpsons-cast … Jimmy Butler trade destinations … and more

— Here’s Cory Woodroof with the 15 best moments from the Simpsons alt-cast for Monday Night Football.

— Jimmy Butler is apparently on the trade block, folks. Here’s Bryan Kalbrsoky with three potential destinations for him.

— Tyler Nettuno has winners and losers from conference championship weekend.

— We’ve got a Caitlin Clark and Taylor Swift link up. The FTWvengers are uniting. Meg Hall has more.

— Joe Burrow’s kneel at the end of the game last night blew playoff chances for a lot of fantasy football owners out there. Prince Grimes has more.

— This Cowboys cheerleader rooting against her team but for her boyfriend is so wholesome.

That’s a wrap, folks. Thanks for reading! Peace.

-Sykes