Questions about whether or not star outfielder Juan Soto regrets leaving the New York Yankees to sign with the New York Mets this past December continue to hover over both clubs in the final days of May.
For a piece published Sunday evening, MLB insider Bob Nightengale of USA Today addressed whether the Yankees were confident that they’d win the Soto sweepstakes as of the day it was first reported that he would be playing home games in Queens for the foreseeable future.
“The New York Yankees are convinced that Juan Soto was ready to re-sign with them on Dec. 11,” Nightengale revealed. “He asked for a bit more time, was going to discuss it with his family during lunch, and the next thing they knew, he was signing with the Mets after being persuaded by family members.”
Specifically, a previous report mentioned that Soto’s mother “appeared to have a soft spot for” Mets co-owners Steve and Alex Cohen. Soto put pen to paper on a 15-year, $765M contract that could reportedly exceed $800M total and included a $75M signing bonus, an opt-out after five years and no deferred money offered by the Mets. To compare, Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner stopped at $760M over 16 years during negotiations with Soto’s camp.
While Steinbrenner allegedly wasn’t willing to include a suite at Yankee Stadium that Soto’s family could use during home games, the Cohens went that extra step to secure the 26-year-old’s services. The Yankees then responded to Soto’s defection by acquiring noteworthy contributors such as ace Max Fried,
outfielder Cody Bellinger, reliever Devin Williams and first baseman Paul Goldschmidt.
The Bronx Bombers ended Sunday atop the American League East standings at 32-20, while the 32-21 Mets began Monday two games back of the Philadelphia Phillies in the battle for first place in the National League East.
Soto openly admitted earlier in May amid his offensive struggles that the Yankees “were No. 1…but we couldn’t get it done.” A subsequent story shared that individuals within “the Mets’ hierarchy” were “concerned about Soto’s lack of enthusiasm for his new team.”
Across Soto’s first 52 games with the Mets, he slashed .236/.363/.414 with a .777 OPS, eight home runs and 24 RBI. One can’t help but wonder how much more comfortable he’d look during plate appearances if he were sharing a lineup with Yankees captain Aaron Judge for the second straight season.
