It was a signature move for club president David Stearns, but this wasn't a team that was in the position of being one player away -- even though Soto is one of the biggest needle-movers in Major League Baseball.

Max Fried (eight years, $215 million to the New York Yankees), Blake Snell (five years, $182 million to the Los Angeles Dodgers), Nathan Eovaldi (three years, $75 million to the Texas Rangers) and ex-Met Luis Severino (three years, $67 million to the A’s) are some of the examples.

New York Mets free agent pitcher Jose Quintana could head out of Queens and land with the Washington Nationals in free agency.

Sean Manaea, who emerged as the Mets’ ace down the stretch last season and shed tears as his time with the Mets came to an end in October, has reached an agreement to return, a source confirmed to the New York Daily News.