Mets’ Soto says the Yankees “did everything in their power” to sign him

NEW YORK – Juan Soto’s decision to sign with the New York Mets didn’t just increase the organization’s chances of winning World Series titles in the coming years. It was also a blow to their cross-town rivals after Soto thrived in his only season with the New York Yankees.

On Thursday, after his introductory news conference at Citi Field, Soto said the Yankees “did everything in their power” to sign him, but he ultimately felt the Mets would be a better fit for him.

“I don’t think it was the Mets over the Yankees,” Soto said. “I think there were five teams that were right at the table. I don’t think it had anything to do with the Mets over the Yankees. I think we had all five teams pushing until the last moment, until the last moment. And we went to the Mets.

Soto shined in the Bronx with a career-best 41 home runs, finished third in American League MVP voting and helped the Yankees reach the World Series for the first time since 2009 in his age-25 season. Their final offer – 16 years for $760 million with no deferrals, according to sources – was competitive with the 15-year, $765 million contract he wanted to sign with the Mets.

It would also have been the largest contract in the history of professional sports. But it wasn’t enough.

“I had four other teams doing the same thing and trying to make me comfortable,” said Soto, who did not speak to any of his former Yankees teammates during his time as a free agent. “And at the end of the day we looked at everything. We looked at the opportunities and we looked at what the other teams wanted to do and what everyone wanted to do in the next 15 years. And I think we have the best opportunity here.

Mets owner Steve Cohen said Soto had a family suite included in his contract from the start of negotiations and that he had no hesitation in including it, a move the Yankees were unwilling to make due to priority over other star players. The deal includes a $75 million signing bonus and an opt-out after the fifth year, which the Mets can avoid by increasing Soto’s annual salary by $4 million over the final ten years of the contract, bringing the total potential value to $805 million increased.

“When you get to those numbers, you’re in a stratosphere,” Cohen said. “And so you have to make a judgment call that this is really going to be significant for the Mets and is going to be something that will further our goal of winning championships. Signing a player of his caliber is really unusual. So you have to take a step a bit further than you would expect.

Soto highlighted the Mets’ vision for the future, the financial commitment Cohen insisted on and the way the organization treated players and their families as drivers of his decision. He mentioned building a “dynasty” several times.

“The Mets are a great organization and what they’ve done over the last few years, showing their ability to continue to win … trying to build a dynasty is one of the most important things,” Soto said. “What you saw from the other side was incredible. The mood and everything. The feeling and the future this team has has a lot to do with my decision.”

Cohen said he found Soto to be a very detail-oriented person who peppered Mets officials with questions. At one point during Soto’s second recruiting dinner with the club, held Friday in Florida, Cohen said the superstar right fielder asked him how many World Series titles he envisioned in the next decade.

Cohen told Soto that he would like to win two on four.

“I think this accelerates our goal of winning championships,” Cohen said Thursday.

Accelerating the goal with Soto on board was on Cohen’s mind long before this offseason. David Stearns, president of baseball operations, said Cohen told him the Mets would make a strong case for Soto if he reached free agency in talks this winter before Stearns was hired to lead the front office in October 2023 .

“We’ve talked about some generational players in our game and the difficulty of accessing some of those generational players, and Juan is certainly one of them,” Stearns said.

Stearns said preparations to prosecute Soto began in earnest in August. Scott Boras, Soto’s agent, stated that eight teams showed serious interest in competing for his services, but Soto decided to narrow the field to five: the Mets, Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Dodgers.

Soto held meetings with four of the clubs at a hotel in Newport Beach, California, in November. The Mets were the only team that didn’t face Soto there. Instead, the Mets held their meeting at Cohen’s $32 million mansion in Beverly Hills.

There, the Mets presented Soto with an English-language video created by Cohen’s son Josh in the home’s theater. His wife, Alex, impressed Soto’s camp with her focus on family, while their 93-year-old father, Ralph, known at Citi Field as “Mets Grandpa,” flew across the country to be there.

“My father-in-law is at every game, every home game,” Steve Cohen said. “I wanted (Soto) to see how important baseball is to this family. You know, Alex grew up with a TV in her apartment and the Met game on every night.”

More than 30 members of Soto’s family were present at Thursday’s press conference. The Mets served Dominican food for lunch.

“It looks good on you!” a member of his family shouted in Spanish as Soto put on his new No. 22 jersey between Stearns and Boras.

Soto ended up wearing that number around town for just one season. The Yankees ultimately fell short of their ultimate goal. In Queens, thanks to strong spirit and a solid foundation, the Mets unexpectedly made it into the National League Championship Series a year earlier than expected. Now it’s about winning championships.

“It’s been a Mets town for a long time,” Soto said. “I think we just have to take it to the top. The championships will tell you at the end of the day whether it’s a Yankees city or a Mets city.”