The New York Mets acquired Juan Soto on a record 15-year, $765 million deal this offseason, making it largest contract in American sport history. Soto's agent Scott Boras also secured a three-year, $120 million deal for Alex Bregman this month, making him one of the highest-paid players in the MLB.
Bret Boone, the elder brother of New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone, believes that the excellent postseason peformances of Juan Soto last year was the chief reason why his market value reached such a stratospheric height. He pointed out that the stellar postseason record of Alex Bregman similarly allowed the third baseman to earn a lucrative contract with the Boston Red Sox.
A three-time All-Star infielder, Bret Boone won four Gold Gloves and two Silver Slugger awards over his 14-year major league career. On The Bret Boone podcast, he offered his thoughts on the contracts of Juan Soto and Alex Bregman on Sunday [9:53 - 12:00].

"What really sold everybody on Soto in that postseason is he was above and beyond the best offensive player in all of the postseason, and it was obvious," Boone said. "I think it really elevated him to another level.
"I don't think Alex Bregman is the level of player offensively that a Juan Soto is, but I tell you what, he has a knack for the postseason," he added. "It seems like the bigger the moment, the slower he can slow everything down, and he shines. Really controls the strike zone as good as anybody."
Soto batted .327/.469/.633 for the Yankees during the postseason, with four home runs, 12 RBIs, 14 walks and an OPS of 1.101.
Juan Soto hits a home run in first at-bat for the Mets

Juan Soto arrived at the New York Mets spring training facility with tremendous fanfare and hype after signing his record-breaking contract. He didn't waste any time to impress his new teammates and the Mets fanbase by belting a home run in his first at-bat.
The lefty slugger smacked the ball over the left-center field fence in the first inning of the spring training game against the Houston Astros on Saturday afternoon. The Mets notched up a 6-2 victory over the Astros in the contest.
"I feel like everybody was really happy. I would say the worst reaction was (teammate) Jesse Winker, that I stepped on him," Soto said. "He was really (in) pain, but he was happy at the same time."
A year ago, Soto had also homered in his first game wearing a New York Yankees uniform.