Mets might've dropped Juan Soto breadcrumbs with their latest ex-Yankees signing

After a whirlwind weekend of Red Sox connections, Yankees and Mets silence, and Randy Miller being Randy Miller, it was refreshing to hear SNY's Andy Martino pop in as the voice of reason on Monday morning when it came to Juan Soto.

Yes, Soto is likely considering all those teams. No, the Yankees aren't already out; in fact, they remain "all in" alongside the Mets. Both might be outbid by the Toronto Blue Jays; some haven't taken them seriously, but as Martino noted, if they're still involved, they matter.

Martino's words were a rational reminder that, even with a decision likely between a week and 10 days away during the Winter Meetings, we don't know all that much about Soto's intentions, no matter what's currently covering the windshield.

That, of course, led to a brief moment of global calm before an even-more-intense-than-before attempt to fill the space with noise. After all, if we truly know next to nothing, then the room is ripe for speculation. In terms of tea-leaf reading, checking through Soto's agent Scott Boras' actual transactions feels more valid than disconnected musings. As much as it pains us to say this, the Mets' somewhat absurd Frankie Montas contract (two years, $34 million) feels like a bit of a gesture of goodwill and a show of faith to Boras. It won't decide where Soto goes, but it could certainly be a declaration that the Mets are willing to help Boras' clients in a multitude of ways (and have the budget to do so).

At the very least, it could earn the Mets some sort of kindness, like a chance to match at the end of the process. The more good deeds teams do, the better they're treated. The less they leak, the better as well. Talking to you, Juan Soto's sister's realtor.

Mets might've helped Scott Boras with ex-Yankees righty Frankie Montas for good reason

Montas certainly fits the profile of muddled targets like Luis Severino and Sean Manaea, both of whom overcame their bugaboos in the Mets' pitching lab last year, and will earn longer-term deals this offseason for their efforts. The Mets had an obvious void in the rotation, and Montas shrugged off his injury issues to throw 150+ innings last year. That counts. $17 million is also chump change to Steve Cohen and big bucks to other parties. That counts, too.

But it can't help but be noted that New York devoted two years to a righty who missed a moderate amount of bats (under a K per inning) last season and posted a 4.84 ERA across two stops. His splitter's been less than crisp since 2022. He's alternated between eating innings and entering MRI tubes. After successfully fostering bounce backs last season, Stearns and Co. delivered double the commitment to a potentially riskier proposition this time around.

Was that a favor to Boras, and a signal portending Soto in orange and blue? Impossible to say, but it's more logical than any other explanation for the two years' worth of enthusiasm.