Juan Soto buys into Steve Cohens lofty Mets World Series ambitions: Why you play baseball
Juan Soto wanted to know just how much success his prospective new team patriarch expected if he signed with the Mets. This was during one of the two lunch meetings Soto had with Steve Cohen during the All-Star outfielder’s free-agency tour over the last month.The expectation would be to win, Soto understood, but to what degree over the next 10 years? Cohen told Soto he would like to win two to four World Series titles over the next decade.
Soto respected what he heard. “I feel that is what it’s all about, why you play baseball — to be a championship player and win as many as you can,” Soto said Thursday at Citi Field, where he donned his No.22 Mets jersey for the first time after signing an historic contract with the club.
“At the end of the day, you can have all this stuff, but if you don’t win it’s kind of hard.” Soto, 26, received a record 15-year deal worth $765 million that includes an opt-out after the fifth season.The contract also includes a $75 million signing bonus and is without deferrals.
The Mets can nullify Soto’s opt-out by agreeing to raise his AAV from $51 million to $55 million following the 2029 season.The deal also includes bonuses for winning the MVP award. Soto, who was also heavily pursued by the Yankees, Red Sox, Blue Jays and Dodgers, said he faced a tough decision in what he termed a stressful process at times and wasn’t sure which offer to accept until the end. In his one season with the Yankees, he hit a career-high 41 homers and helped the team reach the World Series.
The Yankees offered $760 million over 16 years. “They did everything in their power to help me out, to bring me back,” Soto said.“I had four other teams trying to do the same thing and in trying to make me feel comfortable.
At the end, we looked at everything, we looked at the chances and looked at what everybody wants to do for the next 15 years and I think we have the best chance to do it over here.” Cohen has long coveted Soto....