Absurd rumored Juan Soto contract offer throws massive wrench in Yankees-Mets war

According to Baseball Hall of Fame honoree and venerated New York Daily News scribe Bill Madden, the New York Yankees are prepared to make a record-shattering $750-760 million offer for free agent Juan Soto. Somehow, that's still bad news.

In the midst of Sunday night's Winter Meetings arrival chaos, Madden tweeted that he believed that Steve Cohen and the Mets were preparing to approach $800 million, a plateau that would've sounded ludicrous mere weeks ago.

As Madden ominously added, "If , will be alone."

Yup. Purportedly, Hal Steinbrenner's "comfort zone" has been extended for a player he desired deeply in a way it never has been before. And now, if the dollar figures fly even higher, he'll tap out far later than he ever anticipated, and will place the ball back in Soto and Scott Boras' court. It's an unpleasant court to play around on.

Yankees rumored to be catching up to Mets' $800 million Juan Soto contract offer

If Soto's offers from both the Yankees and Mets were close, the prevailing wisdom was that he would return to the Bronx and continue to comfortably bat ahead of Aaron Judge, something he reportedly enjoyed tremendously last season. Is $800 million vs. $750-60 million "close"? Is $2.5-3 million per season "close"?

If Madden's report is correct, Soto could still choose the Yankees in this scenario, but it would feel increasingly unlikely. We've also long been told Soto intends to set a ridiculous precedent for future free agents. Leaving upwards of $40 million on the table would run counter to that pursuit -- but, then again, $760 million wouldn't exactly be a slap in the face to future free agent applicants.

Bottom line? It'll be a while before anyone with Soto's skill set -- and at Soto's age -- hits the free agent market. There are also plenty of other ways to build a team utilizing $750 million.

Signing Soto, a beloved player during his single pennant-winning season in the Bronx, certainly felt like the easiest way to ensure contention, though. Cohen may indeed finally be on the road to not being denied, though, which has long been whispered about. In that case, this charade might not go on much longer -- or perhaps Soto will show surprising loyalty.

Or this could all be wildly off base and a scare tactic! That's possible, too.