It wasn't Mets vs. Yankees.
The Mets are better than four other suitors, all of whom are willing to pay big bucks for superstar outfielder Juan Soto and his talented agent Scott Boras. he claimed.
The Yankees were seen as the Mets' main competition after Soto spent one season in the Bronx and helped them reach the World Series, but the two had a different story Thursday.
“I feel like they did everything they could to help me and bring me back,” Soto said of the Yankees during his induction press conference as a Met. “But the other four teams did the same thing and tried to make me feel comfortable. At the end of the day, we looked at everything and what the other teams wanted to do over the next 15 years. We looked into it, and we think we have the best chance of doing it here.”
Soto emphasized that he enjoyed his season as a Yankee and that nothing would have changed if he had won the World Series against the Dodgers instead of losing in five games.
It didn't affect his decision.
He sounded as if what the Mets did to make him comfortable was more important than what the Yankees didn't do for him.
Despite this, Soto said he has not spoken to any of his former Yankees teammates since the end of the season.
He clearly believes in billionaire owner Steve Cohen's vision for the Mets and the family atmosphere the team has created.
Soto, 26, noted the relationships that Cohen and his wife, Alex, have built with players and their families.
Soto held a meeting at Cohen's mansion in Beverly Hills, California, and the rest of the team met with him at a hotel.
Soto's 15-year, $765 million contract includes a free luxury suite, a perk the Yankees did not include.
“I thought it was really good to hear from him,” Soto said of Cohen. “That was one of the biggest things.”
Family is important to Soto.
Boras joked that he called the group the “Supreme Court of Soto.”
These include several uncles, their mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters.
They made the decision together.
Soto had more than 30 family members with him at Citi Field on Thursday.
The Piazza Club had a catered Dominican menu prepared for the festival, including pernil, carne asada, maduros, rice and beans, and churros.
“They always talk about family, always talking about coming together. That's one of the things that opened my eyes,” Soto said of the Mets. “That's when I started thinking about all the love they give me and my family. What impressed me even more was how they treated those around me and my family. That's one thing I received.”
Boras said outright that reports that he called the Yankees for a chance to match or exceed his contract with the Mets are inaccurate.
In the end, Soto decided to play for the Mets.
“The New York Yankees were an active participant in this negotiation. They did that,” Boras said. “They really, really made themselves famous in this process. What was it really like internally? [Soto and his family] I felt it was the best in the long run.
“When you're at a wedding, you don't talk about the bridesmaids,” the rep added. “I'm not here to debate why or why not. All I know is who Juan and the group can contact to work out the final details. I've been waiting a long time for him to send it to me, and he finally did it.”
