Trevor Bauer makes feelings known on Juan Soto's $765,000,000 contract worthiness

The New York Mets laid down a marker of their ambitions in the offseason by breaking the bank for All-Star outfielder Juan Soto. Steve Cohen's team signed the Dominican slugger for a record-breaking $765,000,000 deal over 15 years, the largest contract in MLB history.

Soto was expected to be the highlight of the offseason like Shohei Ohtani in 2023. However, not many would've predicted the former New York Yankees slugger to surpass Ohtani's $700,000,000 deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

While fans and analysts continue debating Soto's blockbuster deal with the Mets and whether he is worth it, former MLB pitcher Trevor Bauer made his feelings known in the contract.

On Ryan Pineda's "The Wealthy Way" podcast, the former Cy Young winner shared his opinion (1:25:00 onwards):

"People see Juan Soto sign for, you know, basically a billion dollars or whatever. It's crazy; he deserves it, by the way. He's the best hitter in baseball. But they see him signed for that and go, 'Oh, baseball players get paid so much,' but the vast majority don't."

Bauer mentions Juan Soto's contract as a rare thing in baseball as he believes baseball players don't get paid those amounts in general, and the Dominican superstar's contract was an exception.

Trevor Bauer turned down long-term contract offers in free agency

During the episode, Trevor Bauer, who last played in MLB in 2021, revealed turning down long term contracts in free agency following his Cy Young winning season with the Cincinnati Reds in 2020.

Bauer revealed an anonymous team offered him a seven-year deal but he wanted to maximize his AAV and signed for the Dodgers on a three-year, $102 million contract in February 2021. The contract also had opt-outs after each of his first two seasons.

He said (1:27:00):

"I got an offer from, I won't say the team but they said it's seven years, 'You tell us the price, here's the contract.' And I was like, I don't want seven years, I don't trust your organization to win and I don't want to go to a hell hole and lose for the rest of my career. I had other teams that were like five years for $30 million a year."

Following his controversial exit from the MLB, Trevor Bauer has played in the NPB for Yokohama DeNA BayStars in 2023 and Mexican team Diablos Rojos del México in 2024. He was named the 2024 Mexican League Pitcher of the Year after a record-breaking season with the team.