The Mets have won the battle for Juan Soto this past offseason, offering more insight into why Soto made the decision to choose Queens over the Bronx.
in Sports Illustration Storythe outfielder praised Mets owner Steve Cohen. He created a family-friendly atmosphere not only for his financial mass but for the entire organization.
Soto also questioned how good the Yankees will be over the rest of his career.
“When I see how long this deal will last, it just came down to that decision, do you know?” Soto told SI. “What do they have in the farm system? How many times can they do good with this team? The Yankees know that it's good for the next five or six years. I don't know what happens after that.”
The Yankees reached the World Series for the first time since 2009 in a lonely season with the club, hitting before Aaron's judge, and Soto said his first choice was to return as a free agent.
“The Yankees were number one,” Soto said of where he wanted to head to the free agency. “From the first day.”
He first signed with the Mets and then reflected Soto's comments.
Soto clearly evaluates the commitment Cohen has shown.
“I mean, he's going to put it in,” Soto said. “He put a lot of things there. They put my family in. My family and the way they take care of everything. They have to take care of them.”
But that doesn't mean he was upset with the Yankees and the treatment of his family while he was with the team.
Soto again said he was not angry at the Yankees team security last year.
This post, previously reported by SOTO, was plagued by incidents during the 2024 season. During this season, Yankees security guards blocked Soto's family and his chef/driver from certain areas of the ballpark.
“Nothing happened,” Soto said. “All this news that came out of security… They brought my family and they didn't let me do that – it's not true. Yankees security, those people were with me and my family.”
Soto also added that the lack of offers for free suites at Yankee Stadium (an organizational policy that does not break up for any player) has not played a factor in the transition to the Mets.
Instead, Soto said it was Cohen who convinced him that the Mets had a chance to win each year.
“That's what he told me,” Soto said. “He's going to try and get a winning team every year, and that's what he can do. And I give him all his trust. I want to be happy.”
Soto added that the Yankees aren't that strong.
“I mean, they put in a lot of effort,” Soto said of the 16-year $760 million offer. “But we had a lot of interactions and we did our best.
“I feel like the Yankees did a pretty good job, but they kept it… they couldn't do it right.
