At the start of the 2024 season, Philadelphia Phillies fans viewed the Atlanta Braves as their primary competition in the NL East. It made sense—the Braves had clinched the division title six years in a row.
Yet, in the end, it was the Mets who gave the Phillies the most trouble in the division. With their season over as well, the Mets held their end-of-season press conference on Wednesday, where president of baseball operations David Stearns signaled they’ll be making big moves in the offseason.
**Phillies’ Nightmare Scenario as Mets Gear Up for ‘Aggressive’ Offseason**
The Mets, along with the Yankees, are now frontrunners to pursue mega-free agent Juan Soto for a significant long-term contract. With owner Steve Cohen’s deep pockets, the Mets are poised for high-stakes spending—even if it hasn’t always worked out in their favor.
- “Our entire player universe is potentially accessible to us,” Stearns said about their free agency approach, according to MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo. “That’s an enormous opportunity. I envision us taking advantage of that opportunity and being aggressive in certain spaces.” This confident statement makes it clear that the Mets are prepared for serious competition. It’s a notable contrast to Phillies’ president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski’s recent comments.
Dombrowski indicated the Phillies are heading into the offseason “open-minded to making adjustments,” per MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki, not exactly the rallying cry fans were hoping for. When asked about adding another star, he downplayed the need.
“I don’t think we need to add more star players; we have about as many stars as anybody in baseball,” Dombrowski said, although he didn’t entirely rule it out. However, Phillies fans shouldn’t expect a Mets-style pursuit of Soto.
To be clear, Stearns didn’t explicitly confirm they would chase Soto, as tampering rules prohibit such statements.
“I don’t know,” Stearns said, per DiComo, when asked about a big-money signing. “I think it’s too early to determine exactly where we’re going to take our shots. And so we’ll continue to evaluate that plan and that path as we move through the offseason.”
Missing out on Soto due to a potentially sky-high contract—starting at around $500 million—would be disappointing for the Phillies, given his talent and age, especially as the lineup could use a more disciplined hitter.
