"So many opportunities to create value from Shohei Ohtani" - Mets analyst claims Juan Soto's $765,000,000 deal is more surprising and groundbreaking

Juan Soto's landmark signing with the New York Mets sent shockwaves through the sporting world. The Dominican star and the Mets agreed upon was a mind-boggling $765 million deal in the offseason, the richest contract ever given to a sportsperson.

In the "Amazin' Conversations" podcast hosted by Jay Horwitz, former Mets player-turned-analyst Todd Zeile talked about the impact of Shohei Ohtani's $700 million deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers compared to Juan Soto's signing this offseason.

"So many opportunities to create value from Shohei Ohtani," Zeile said (1:55-2:00).

"The reasoning behind the Shohei [Ohtani] deal is because he plays both sides of the ball and it opens up the players from Japan even further." (1:45-1:55)

Zeile then cited Soto's signing as even more groundbreaking in the larger context.

"Soto's signing is even more surprising and groundbreaking. It will be interesting to see how it plays out for the next 15 years," he added (2:05-2:11).

Ex-Met Todd Zeile hails Juan Soto as "generational talent"

Zeile sang Soto's praises in the same podcast and labeled him a "generational talent."

"People talk about generational talent, but you always find some other guy coming through the ranks that do amazing things, one of those is Juan Soto." (2:10 onwards)

"From the time he was 19 years old, you saw there was something different about Juan Soto. It feels like he's been around for 20 years. He's been in the league for just around six seasons. At that point, you can assess that there's something different about him," he said (2:15 onwards).

The ex-pro further reinforced his opinion and even pointed out that Soto not only performs during the regular season, but is also a premier postseason performer, saying:

"All of the things were magnified when you saw him in the postseason. To do the things he was doing at such a young age for the Washington Nationals on the biggest stage, you know he's going to remain special."

Juan Soto has already accomplished several accolades in his short Major League career. He won the 2019 World Series title with the Nats. The following year, Soto claimed the NL batting title. In addition, he also has four All-Star game appearances and five Silver Sluggers to boot.