New York Mets outfielder Juan Soto received the Juan Marichal Award on Dominican Republic Independence Day on Thursday, February 27 before the team’s game against the Houston Astros at Clover Park in Port St. Lucie Fla.
¡Merecido! Juan Soto recibió esta tarde el premio Juan Marichal, como mejor jugador dominicano del 2024. pic.twitter.com/0m0LfRGmCK
— LasMayores (@LasMayores) February 27, 2025
The Juan Marichal Award honors the best player from the Dominican Republic after every Major League Baseball regular season.
Marichal was the first Dominican-born player inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1983.
During his 16-year MLB career, Marichal pitched for the San Francisco Giants from 1960-1973, the Boston Red Sox in 1974, and the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1975. He was a ten-time All-Star between 1962-1971, led the National League in wins in 1963 and 1968, and had the lowest ERA in Major League Baseball in 1969. He also threw a no-hitter on June 15, 1963, against the Houston Astros, the first no-hitter ever thrown at Candlestick Park.
Soto joins past Juan Marichal Award winners Marcell Ozuna in 2023, Sandy Alcantara in 2022, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in 2021.
In his 2024 All-Star campaign with the New York Yankees, Soto finished fourth in the MLB with 41 home runs. He tied for sixth in RBIs with 109, second in walks with 129, 16th in average at .288, third in OPS at .988, and 17th in hits with 166, while playing in 157 games with 713 plate appearances.
In his only season in the Bronx, Soto helped lead the New York Yankees franchise to their 41st American League Pennant, but failed to win the Fall Classic losing to the Los Angeles Dodgers in five games.
In his 49 postseason at-bats with the Yankees, Soto hit .327, scoring 12 runs, recording 16 hits, three doubles, four home runs, nine RBI, 14 walks, two intentional walks, and nine strikeouts.
The left-handed hitter is a four-time All-Star from 2021-24. He won a World Series in 2019 with the Washington Nationals and has been selected three-times for the All-MLB First Team in 2020-21 and 2024. Soto won the Silver Slugger Award from 2020–2024, and won the National League batting title in 2020, during his eight seasons in the majors.
Largest Contracts in Sports
On December 2, Soto signed a 15-year, $765 million contract with the Mets that includes no deferred money and a $75 million signing bonus.
Soto’s contract pays him $46,875,000 each in 2025 and 2026, $42.5 million in 2027, $46,875,000 in 2028 and 2029, and $46 million per season from 2030 through 2039. And it offers a luxury suite at Citi Field, four premium seats per game, and performance-based award bonuses. He will wear No. 22 in Queens.
Soto now holds the largest in Major League Baseball history, surpassing Shohei Ohtani’s ten-year, $700 million deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers (2024-2033), Aaron Judge, New York Yankees: 9 years, $360 million (2023-31), Bryce Harper, Philadelphia Phillies: 13 years, $330 million (2019-31), (tie) Corey Seager, Texas Rangers: 10 years, $325 million (2022-31), Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Los Angeles Dodgers: 12 years, $325 million, Gerrit Cole, New York Yankees: 9 years, $324 million (2020-28), (tie) Manny Machado, San Diego Padres: 10 years, $300 million (2019-28), Trea Turner, Philadelphia Phillies: 11 years, $300 million (2023-33), and Xander Bogaerts, San Diego Padres: 11 years, $280 million (2023-33).
In the history of Major League Baseball, the top 10 free-agent contracts by average annual value were Shohei Ohtani, Dodgers: $70 million (2024-33), Juan Soto, Mets: $51 million (2025-39), (tie) Max Scherzer, Mets: $43,333,333 (2022-24), Justin Verlander, Mets: $43,333,333 (2023-24), Aaron Judge, Yankees: $40 million (2023-31), Jacob deGrom, Rangers: $37 million (2023-27), Blake Snell, Dodgers: $36.4 million (2025-29), Gerrit Cole, Yankees: $36 million (2020-28), (tied) Stephen Strasburg, Nationals: $35 million (2020-26) and Anthony Rendon, Angels: $35 million (2020-26).
MLB, Juan Soto (15 years, $765 million); NBA, Jayson Tatum (5 years, $315 million); NHL, Igor Shesterkin (8 years, $92 million); and NFL, Dak Prescott (4 years, $240 million) were the top highest paid signings across all four professional American sports leagues in 2024.
The top professional athlete signings in the world with their length of contract, contract value, average per year in U.S. Dollars and average per game and event are: Shohei Ohtani with Los Angeles Dodgers 10 years (2024–2033) $700,000,000 – $70,000,000 – 432,099, Lionel Messi, FC Barcelona, 4 years (2017–2021) $674,000,000 – $168,500,000 – $4,434,210, Cristiano Ronaldo, Al Nassr, 2.5 years (2023–2025) $536,336,818 – $214,534,727 – $7,151,158, Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs, 10 years (2020–2031) $450,000,000 – $45,000,000 – $2,465,686, Karim Benzema, Al-Ittihad, 2 years (2023–2025) $447,302,608 – $223,651,304 – $7,455,04, Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels, 12 years (2019–2030)- $426,500,000 – $35,541,667 – $219,393, Canelo Álvarez, DAZN, 5 years (2018–2023) $365,000,000 – $73,000,000 – $33,181,818, Mookie Betts, Los Angeles Dodgers, 12 years (2021–2032 ) $365,000,000 – $30,416,667 – $187,757, and Aaron Judge, New York Yankees, 9 years (2023–2031) $360,000,000 – $40,000,000 – $246,913.
2025 Mets Outlook
Mets owner Steve Cohen and general manager David Stearns will have to evaluate with manager Carlos Mendoza on how Soto fits in the lineup. He is expected to split time between designated hitter with Jesse Winker, and at right field alongside Starling Marte.
“It feels great to have Soto on our team, a quality player, a great person, and we believe that he is going to put us close to what we’re trying to accomplish, which is winning championships. I am confident about the guys we have on our roster, it’s divinial that we have a mix of core guys from both sides of the batter’s box that can help us this season,” Mendoza told World Baseball Network on December 12, 2024 at Juan Soto’s signing press conference at Citi Field.
The Mets will open the 2025 regular season on Thursday, March 27 on the road against the Astros at 4:10 p.m. EDT.
