Slowly but surely, we have officially reached the next stage of the Juan Soto sweepstakes. The New York Mets are among the five teams who have made a contract

Two Saturdays ago, a New York Mets contingent led by owner Steve Cohen, POBO David Stearns, and manager Carlos Mendoza met with top-ranked free agent Juan Soto and agent Scott Boras in Southern California.

Juan Soto appears on a timetable to decide on where to sign either before or during baseball's winter meetings in Dallas, which run from Dec. 8-12. Soto met with the New York Yankees, New York Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers,