You heard it here first. Well, OK, you heard it here 5,380,389th. Juan Soto is headed to the New York Mets.

And apparently, he¡¯s going to be pretty well-compensated. Who knew?

But we¡¯re not here to discuss the contractual parameters and where Soto ranks among the richest athletes in the world or the gross domestic products of small countries. We¡¯re more interested in what his bat means to the Mets and baseball, at large.

Soto finished third in the American League MVP voting in 2024, and now he¡¯ll be paired with Francisco Lindor, the great Mets shortstop who finished second in the National League MVP voting. That¡¯s a pretty good duo, isn¡¯t it? But is it the best lineup duo in MLB going into 2025?

Let¡¯s rank ¡®em!

1. Shohei Ohtani & Mookie Betts (Dodgers)

Very sorry for the deke, everybody. But just because Lindor/Soto is the fresh, hot item out the oven doesn¡¯t mean we¡¯ve forgotten about these two. Ohtani, you might have heard, hit 54 homers with 59 steals last season. He had a 190 OPS+ to Soto¡¯s 178, while Betts¡¯ 145 mark was slightly better than Lindor¡¯s 138, albeit in 36 fewer games.

You can argue with this ranking (and many will!), because obviously Ohtani isn¡¯t going to be nearly as dynamic on the basepaths with his return to the mound and Betts is 32 years old. It¡¯s a valid argument. But in his last season as a two-way player, Ohtani¡¯s 1.066 OPS was higher than Soto has put up so far in a full season, Betts has had more elite offensive seasons than Lindor has, and the Ohtani/Betts duo is backed by another future Hall of Famer batting right behind them (and therefore ensuring plenty of pitches to hit) in Freddie Freeman. So something tells us they¡¯ll continue to be all right ¡­

2. Francisco Lindor & Juan Soto (Mets)

We¡¯ll list them in this order, because that¡¯s the way Carlos Mendoza can list them at the very top of his new-look lineup. Pretty cool, huh?

Lindor¡¯s move to the leadoff spot unlocked his offense in a way we hadn¡¯t really seen since his age-24 season in Cleveland. He had 73 extra-base hits and his highest on-base percentage (.344) in his time with the Mets. There¡¯s no reason he can¡¯t do it again. Soto¡¯s arrival might remind Lindor of batting alongside another gifted, disciplined presence in Jos¨¦ Ram¨ªrez back in the day, and that can continue to bring out his best. And while it remains to be seen if the Mets bring back Pete Alonso, they¡¯ve got a good one blossoming in Mark Vientos, who has the ability to take advantage of all the traffic Lindor and Soto will generate. Again, to list this duo at No. 1 would not be a ¡°prisoner of the moment¡± situation.

3. Kyle Tucker & Yordan Alvarez (Astros)

We don¡¯t mean to disrespect Jose Altuve by not including him here, but the fact of the matter is that Tucker and Alvarez are each entering their age-28 season and are therefore sitting squarely in their primes.

Unfortunately, Tucker lost a large chunk of his 2024 season to a shin fracture, but that only made his .289/.408/.585 slash and 23 homers in 78 games more impressive. He has MVP capabilities ¡­ and plenty of motivation entering his free-agent walk year. And Alvarez is a patient hitter who just brutalizes baseballs. His slugging percentages the last three seasons: .613, .583, .567. The only other qualified hitter with slugging marks that high in each of those years was Aaron Judge. The Astros might lose Alex Bregman to free agency, but they¡¯re still stacked in the upper-third of their order.

4. Trea Turner & Bryce Harper (Phillies)

Though Kyle Schwarber could just as easily be listed here after his second straight season with 100-plus walks and his third straight with at least 38 bombs, Turner and Harper are the dynamic focal points of this fun Phillies lineup, though they do both have chase tendencies that can prove contagious.

In his second season in Philly, Turner didn¡¯t need a settling-in period and the pick-me-up applause that led to a Netflix documentary. He had a strong .295/.338/.469 slash and an OPS+ (124) that was identical to the walk year with the Dodgers in 2022 that earned him his mammoth Phillies payday. If there was a concern, it was in the decline in his stolen-base activity, as the 31-year-old Turner swiped 19 bags in 23 attempts -- a much different showing than his 30-for-30 of a year earlier. Meanwhile, Harper is Harper, just chugging his way to Cooperstown. He had another 30 homers and 42 doubles this year. Ho hum.

5. Fernando Tatis Jr. & Jackson Merrill (Padres)

As with Altuve, no disrespect is intended to Manny Machado. But it¡¯s kind of hard not to be distracted by what¡¯s going on in that San Diego outfield, where the Padres have two magnetic 20-somethings.

Tatis has moved on from the scourge of suspension (and a position change) by beginning to look like the player he was envisioned to be. Though he missed about two months with injury this year, his .276/.340/.492 slash, 21 homers and 21 doubles in 102 games were encouraging signs, and more pointedly, he slugged .520 in his last 70 regular-season games and then scorched the ball while going 11-for-26 with seven extra-base hits in October. He¡¯s 25 years old and looks ready to launch. Then there¡¯s Merrill, a Rookie of the Year runner-up who was incredibly clutch and polished while compiling a .292/.326/.500 slash with 24 homers, 31 doubles, six triples and 16 steals. Maybe he has a sophomore slump. Maybe Machado, who at 32 remains a dynamic player, should be listed here instead. But Merrill and Tatis have transcendent capabilities.

6. Marcell Ozuna & Matt Olson (Braves)

Where¡¯s Ronald Acuña Jr.? Well, he¡¯s recovering from yet another major knee surgery and not expected back by Opening Day, so let¡¯s just see when and what level he returns before we start penciling him into any top-10 lists. Remaining elite on two surgically repaired ACLs is no small task.

For now, Ozuna and Olson are actually the back to back pair in the heart of the Braves¡¯ order -- and a productive one at that. Ozuna has now logged back-to-back seasons with at least 39 homers and 29 doubles, an OPS over .900 and an OPS+ of at least 140. Olson took a major step back this year from his 54-homer, 139-RBIs campaign in 2023, yet still tied for 17th in MLB with 67 extra-base hits. A return to MVP-caliber output from Olson -- or, yes, a return to form for Acu?a -- would vault the Braves much higher on this list.

7. Gunnar Henderson & Adley Rutschman (Orioles)

We¡¯d rank this duo higher if Rutschman¡¯s production didn¡¯t fall off so steeply in the last three months of 2024 (.564 OPS from July through September). Catching can definitely beat a guy up. For all we know, by season¡¯s end, we might be more inclined to list Jackson Holliday alongside Henderson. And of course, the Orioles have plenty of exciting young players in 2024 All-Star Jordan Westburg, Rookie of the Year finalist Colton Cowser and prospect Heston Kjerstad, among others.

What we know for sure is that Henderson is the anchor of this conversation after slashing .281/.364/.529 with 37 homers, 31 doubles and seven triples in a shortstop season that would have gotten a lot more notice if not for what Bobby Witt Jr. was doing in Kansas City.

8. Corbin Carroll & Ketel Marte (Diamondbacks)

Did you know Carroll finished 2024 with an OPS+ above league average (7% better, to be exact)? That seems crazy given his mystifyingly rough start to his sophomore campaign after a rousing Rookie of the Year run in 2023 (.285/.362/.506 slash, 25 homers, 30 doubles, 10 triples and 54 steals).

But Carroll went berserk after the All-Star break, with a .919 OPS, 17 homers and 17 steals. That means a reprise of his rookie year is within reach. And when you pair that with what Marte, an MVP runner-up in 2024 (.932 OPS, 36 homers and 23 doubles) can do, that¡¯s a really dynamic one-two punch atop the Arizona order.

9. Aaron Judge & Giancarlo Stanton (Yankees)

No getting around it. Judge just got downgraded big-time in any duo discussion. Judge and Soto were the modern-day Maris and Mantle or Ruth and Gehrig or Keeler and Conroy (that one¡¯s for you old timey New York Highlanders fans). That production will be hard to replace.

But Stanton is coming off his first 25-homer, 20-double season since 2018, and he had another mammoth October (seven homers in 14 games). So he can still be a valid running mate to the reigning AL MVP if health cooperates (though with Stanton, it rarely has in recent years, as he¡¯s been plagued by lower half issues, hence this ranking). No doubt, though, the Yankees are now going to be on the hunt for left-handed help to give Judge the support he deserves.

10. Marcus Semien & Corey Seager (Rangers)

We¡¯re not going to kick this pair to the curb just because Semien had a down year, with his worst OPS (.699) in a full season since 2014, and because Seager again dealt with injuries. After all, Seager remained a force when healthy, with a 145 OPS+ in 123 games. And Semien might have just been dealing with the ramifications of setting a new record for plate appearances in a calendar year (regular and postseason) with 835 in 2023.

But with Semien entering his age-34 season, this duo¡¯s hold on a spot might be tenuous. And actually, Wyatt Langford might be gunning to be Seager¡¯s right-hand man before long.

Honorable mention: Bo Bichette & Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (Blue Jays) and Bobby Witt Jr. & Vinnie Pasquantino (Royals)

Despite Guerrero¡¯s return to MVP-caliber output in 2024, it¡¯s hard to justify putting him and Bo in the top 10 after Bichette slashed a woeful .225/.277/.322 in 81 games. But they¡¯re both ultra-talented, and importantly, they¡¯re both pending free agents, which we know has brought out many a player¡¯s best in the past.

As for the Royals¡¯ pair, Witt speaks for himself after his MVP runner-up, and Pasquantino drove in 97 runs before breaking his thumb in August, so they have a strong argument for inclusion.