Juan Soto was introduced at Citi Field after his record $765 million, 15-year contract was finalized. He was flanked by Mets owner Steve Cohen, president of baseball operations David Stearns and agent Scott Boras. 

Cohen purchased the Mets ahead of the 2021 season and has boosted them to baseball’s highest payroll in search of the team’s first title since 1986.

The value of Soto’s contract eclipsed Shohei Ohtani’s $700 million, 10-year deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers last December. The 26-year-old Soto batted .288 with 41 homers, 109 RBIs and 129 walks this year and has a .285 career average with 201 homers, 592 RBIs and 769 walks over seven seasons with Washington, San Diego and the Yankees.

Soto’s success will be determined by World Series titles. The Yankees have 27, the Mets two.

“It’s such a big city, right? There’s plenty of room for both of us,” Cohen said.

Malik Nabers exploded for 171 yards and two touchdowns and Ihmir Smith-Marsette broke a 100-yard kickoff return to give the New York Giants their highest scoring output under Brian Daboll in a 45-33 victory over the Indianapolis Colts. 

Drew Lock threw four touchdown passes and accounted for a fifth on the ground to seal the win, breaking a 10-game losing streak in the process.

Lock took a perfect 158.3 passer rating deep into the fourth quarter, completing 14 of his first 17 attempts for 254 yards and four touchdowns. He finished 17 of 23 for 309 yards and accounted for five total touchdowns, including a five-yard run to put the Giants ahead 42-33 with 2:57 left in the game.

Sixteen years passed between Joe Flacco’s first start against the Giants as a rookie with Baltimore in 2008 and his most recent. 

Safety Dane Belton intercepted Flacco on the opening drive of the game, diving to make the catch inside the Giants 10-yard line. The Giants went 11 games without an interception this season but have notched one in three of the past four outings. Rookie Dru Phillips put an exclamation point on the game with his first career interception after Lock’s touchdown run.

After losing the Juan Soto sweepstakes, the New York Yankees began the unfurling of Plan B. Step one of The Great Bronx Pivot is an eight-year, $218 million contract with former Atlanta Braves southpaw Max Fried. The deal is the fourth-largest ever for a starting pitcher and the largest in MLB history for a left-hander.

Fried, who turns 31 in January, boasts the single lowest ERA in baseball since the start of 2020. Less reliant on strikeouts than other frontline hurlers, the two-time All-Star is elite at two other very valuable skills: avoiding hard contact and conjuring a parade of groundouts. That, alongside a track record of pinpoint control, means Fried carries a uniquely high floor.

Originally drafted seventh overall by the San Diego Padres out of an L.A.-area high school in 2012, Fried was dealt to Atlanta in 2014 as part of the prospect return for Justin Upton. Across parts of eight  seasons with the Braves, the left-hander established himself as one of the sport’s more dependable starting pitchers. He finishes his Atlanta tenure with a sparkling 3.07 ERA in 884 1/3 innings.

For the Yankees, signing Fried will not single-handedly erase the shattering disappointment of losing Soto, but it’s a strong start.