The long-term contract example teams hope Juan Soto can follow

This is the moment when tomorrow does not matter, not to fans, anyway. The Yankees or the Mets or pick your team want Juan Soto signed now. Period. You will worry about 2030 and 2034 and 2038 when you are riding your hovercraft around then.

Of course, interested teams have to fret about the implications of partnering with Soto well past his prime, but at super-prime dollars. The five largest contracts in MLB history take Manny Machado through his age-40 season, Mookie Betts and Aaron Judge through 39 and Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout through 38.

Soto, entering his age-26 season in 2025, will demand to be treated in contract length like his top brethren, so even through age-38 would necessitate a 13-year agreement.

Perhaps a deal could pay Soto a sizable record for annual value and, therefore, lower the total years. The most likely to do that would be Steve Cohen, and one executive speculated something in the range of 12 years at $55 million per or $660 million. That still would take Soto through his age-37 season — or the same as multiyear deals will take Francisco Lindor and Giancarlo Stanton.