DALLAS — Juan Soto was half of MLB's top one and two offensive punches for the Yankees last season.
Aaron Judge won the American League MVP award after hitting 58 home runs and posting an impressive OPS of 1.159. Soto finished third in the voting after a season in which he hit a career-high 41 home runs and posted a .989 OPS.
Soto reached an agreement with the Mets on Sunday on a record contract worth $765 million over 15 years (the deal is still pending testing). This gives the Mets not only a superstar player who is still in his prime at 26 years old, but also a chance to form their own dynamic duo.
The other is Francisco Lindor, who finished second behind Shohei Ohtani in National League MVP voting after a season in which he posted an .844 OPS and 29 stolen bases (missing his second straight year on a 30-30 club).
Here's a look at the competition between Soto and Lindor for the top current MLB tandem in the context of Mets history.
current tandem
Ohtani/Mookie Betts
The Dodgers are so well-rounded that they could easily substitute Freddie Freeman for Betts and still have the top 1-2 combo in MLB.
In his first season with the Dodgers, Ohtani became the first 50-50 player in MLB history (home runs and stolen bases) and won his second consecutive MVP award.
Betts posted an .863 OPS and 16 stolen bases in an injury-shortened season in which he played in just 116 games. If Freeman were used in place of Betts, Freeman, who posted an .854 OPS during the regular season, could win the World Series MVP award.
Bryce Harper/Kyle Schwarber
The Phillies tandem has terrorized opponents over the past three seasons.
Harper missed games due to injury, hit fewer home runs (23 on average), and averaged an .890 OPS during the period. However, Harper played in 145 games last season and hit 30 home runs.
Since joining the Phillies, Schwarber has averaged 44 home runs and maintained an OPS of no lower than .817 in any season.
Ronald Acuña Jr./Marcell Ozuna
Acuña won the MVP in 2023, but last season ended in May due to a torn ACL, so he didn't get another chance to win the MVP. There's no reason to believe that the 27-year-old Acuña won't come back stronger and as a threat for the Braves (he won MVP one season after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his other knee).
Ozuna finished fourth in MVP voting last season with 39 home runs and a .925 OPS. Ozuna, 34, has had two consecutive seasons with an OPS above .900.
in Mets history
Carlos Beltran/David Wright
The best lineup in Mets history was the group assembled from 2006 to 2008 that included Beltran, Wright, Jose Reyes, and Carlos Delgado.
But Beltran (likely to be a Hall of Fame candidate based on his voting trajectory) and Wright (whose career was on a Hall of Fame course until injury cut short his Hall of Fame career) were the ringleaders of this group.
Beltran averaged 36 home runs in his first four seasons with the club, peaking in 2006 with a .982 OPS. Wright finished in the top 10 in MVP voting three years in a row after Beltran's arrival. Wright also had an OPS over .900 for four consecutive seasons.
Mike Piazza/Edgardo Alfonzo
The Mets traded Piazza during the 1998 season to reorganize their batting lineup in need of added strength. Piazza did not disappoint, averaging 37 home runs in his first full season with the club. Piazza started his career with the Mets and had five consecutive seasons with an OPS above .900.
Alfonzo was a consistent threat for the Mets during his eight seasons with the Mets, peaking during back-to-back playoff appearances in 1999 and 2000, when he averaged 26 home runs and an OPS of over .900.
Lindor/Pete Alonso
Lindor has finished in the top 10 in MVP voting the past three years, despite a subpar (at least by his standards) first season with Queen's. He is averaging 30 home runs during this period.
Alonso had one season in 2022-2023 in which he hit at least 40 home runs. Last season, he slumped to 34 at-bats (his lowest total in a full season since coming to the major leagues) and finished with an OPS below .800 for the first time in his career.
Darryl Strawberry/Gary Carter
This dynamic partnership didn't last long, as after a strong 1985-86 season (his first two years with the club) in which Carter averaged 28 home runs and finished 6th and 3rd, respectively, in MVP voting, his Attack power decreased.
Strawberry, the franchise's all-time leader in home runs with 252, posted a .947 OPS (the second highest of his career) in his first season with Carter. Strawberry averaged 28 home runs over two seasons, and Carter was in his prime with the Mets.
