It wasn’t the Mets over the Yankees.
It was the Mets over four other suitors, all of whom were willing to pay top dollar to land Juan Soto, the superstar outfielder and his high-powered agent, Scott Boras, insisted.
Though the Yankees were viewed as the Mets’ main competition because Soto had just spent a season in The Bronx and helped them reach the World Series, the duo told a different story Thursday.
“I feel like they did everything they had in their power to help me out, to bring me back,” Soto said of the Yankees during his introductory press conference as a Met. “But I had four other teams doing the same thing and trying to make me feel comfortable. At the end of the day, we looked at everything and we looked at what other teams wanted to do for the next 15 years, and I think we have the best chance to do it here.”
Soto emphasized that he enjoyed his season as a Yankee, and it wouldn’t have made a difference had they beaten the Dodgers in the World Series instead of losing to them in five games.
That didn’t impact his decision.
He made it sound like it was more of what the Mets did to make him feel comfortable rather than what the Yankees didn’t.
Nevertheless, Soto said he hasn’t talked to any of his now-former Yankees teammates since the season ended.
He clearly believes in billionaire owner Steve Cohen’s vision for the Mets and the family atmosphere that the team has created.
Soto, 26, took notice of the relationships Cohen and his wife, Alex, have built with players and their families.
Soto had a meeting at Cohen’s mansion in Beverly Hills, Calif., while the other teams met him at a hotel.
Included in Soto’s 15-year, $765 million contract is a free luxury suite, which was a perk the Yankees wouldn’t include.
“I feel like that was really nice coming from him,” Soto said of Cohen. “It was one of the biggest things.”
Family is important to Soto.
Boras joked that he calls the group the “Supreme Court of Soto.”
It includes several uncles, his mom, dad, brother and sister, among others.
They made the decision together.
Soto had more than 30 members of his family at Citi Field on Thursday.
There was a catered Dominican menu that included pernil, carne asada, maduros, rice and beans and churros in the Piazza Club for the festivities.
“They always talk about family, they always talk about sticking together, and that’s one of the things that opened my eyes,” Soto said, referring to the Mets. “That’s when I started thinking about all the love they can give to me and my family. That’s one of the things that impressed me more, how they are going to treat others around me and my family.”
Unprompted, Boras said a report that he called the Yankees with an opportunity to match or beat Mets deal was inaccurate.
It came down to Soto deciding on the Mets.
“The New York Yankees in this negotiation stepped up. They did,” Boras said. “They really, really made themselves known in this process. It was really about what internally [Soto and his family] felt was the best long term.
“When you’re at a wedding, you don’t talk about the bridesmaids,” the agent added. “I’m not here to address why or why not. All I know is I’ve been waiting a long time for Juan and the group to send me the signal of who I can close with and work out the final details, and he finally did.”