Juan Soto reveals Yankees were No. 1 early in free agency and why he ultimately picked Mets

The Mets won the battle for Juan Soto this past offseason, and Soto is providing more insight into why he made his decision to choose Queens over The Bronx.  Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting with Mike Puma about the inside buzz on the Mets from spring training In a Sports Illustrated story, the outfielder praised Mets owner Steve Cohen, not just for his financial largesse, but also for creating a family-friendly atmosphere throughout the organization. Soto also questioned how good the Yankees will be over the course of the rest of his career. “As you see how long this contract is going to be, it just came down to that decision, you know?” Soto told SI.“What do they have in the farm system? How many times can we be good on this team? I know the Yankees are going to be good for the next five, six years.

We don’t know after that.” The Yankees reached the World Series for the first time since 2009 in Soto’s lone season with the club, hitting in front of Aaron Judge, and Soto said his first choice would have been to return as a free agent. “The Yankees were No.1,” Soto said of where he wanted to end up heading into free agency.

“From Day One.” It echoed Soto’s comments after he first signed with the Mets, when he said in December they gave him “the best chances” to win during his 15-year, $765 million contract. Soto clearly values the commitment that Cohen has shown. “I mean, the effort that he puts in,” Soto said.“He put a lot of things out there.

They put my family into it.My family, and the way they take care of everything.

They have to be taken care of.” But that doesn’t mean he was upset with the Yankees and their treatment of his family while he was with the team. Soto again said he was not upset by Yankees team security last year. The Post previously reported Soto was bothered by an incident during the 2024 season in which a Yankees security guard blocked a ...