Is Juan Soto overpaid?

During the MLB offseason, the world of sports saw the biggest contract not just in baseball history, but in sports history.

The New York Mets signed Juan Soto to a 15-year, $765 million deal after one year with their cross-town rival, the New York Yankees.

Soto will average $51 million annually and along with this contract comes a luxury suite for his family and friends, four premium suites at Mets home games and he gets to keep his number 22.

The contract's average annual value of $51 million is substantial. Many MLB fans have argued that it's excessive for a player who is not a two-way star like Shohei Ohtani to sign a huge contract like that.

Many people also argue that Soto’s 15-year contract creates a large financial burden for the Mets. A huge contract like Soto’s may possibly hinder the Mets organization’s ability to build a competitive roster around Soto in the future and even pay their current roster, such as Francisco Lindor, Starling Marte and Brandon Nimmo.

Some professional analysts have suggested that Soto's production so far for the New York Mets and the production of his entire career, while impressive, doesn't quite justify the immense price tag of $765 million compared to other top players such as Ohtani, Aaron Judge and Bryce Harper.

The Mets made some other notable acquisitions during the offseason, such as re-signing Pete Alonso and Sean Manaea, and bringing in stars like Clay Holmes from the New York Yankees, Jose Siri from the Tampa Bay Rays, and A.J. Minter from the Atlanta Braves

And because of these acquisitions, the Mets are one of the hottest teams in the league. They are currently 18-7 and top of the NL East.

They have won eight of their last 10 games and are on a seven-game winning streak, sweeping both the Cardinals and the Phillies.

However, there is one player that is definitely not meeting the expectations of the Mets organization and all Mets fans: Juan Soto

In 25 games for the New York Mets, Soto is averaging .233 with three home runs and 12 RBIs.

He is slugging .389 and has struck out 16 times so far this season. And the main reason why the Mets are performing so well is because of a player who almost didn’t come back: Alonso.

Alonso is hitting .341 with six home runs and 26 RBIs. His average is the sixth best in Major League Baseball and is tied for second in RBIs with a former teammate of Soto, Aaron Judge.

He also has an on-base percentage of .440, which is sixth in the MLB and has a slugging percentage of .681, which is fourth in the MLB.

His OPS is 1.211, third in the MLB, and is tied for first with Jung Hoo Lee for doubles with 11. Alonso’s contract is nowhere near Soto’s contract. The New York Mets signed Alonso to a two-year, $54 million deal.

Massimo Buonagurio is a first-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email mkb6750@psu.edu.