The Dominican player revealed that there were teams that offered him a bigger contract than the $765 million he accepted from the NY Mets.
Juan Soto broke the free agency rule in Major League Baseball by accepting a contract with the New York Mets that has him tied to the team for 15 seasons in exchange for 765 million dollars. However according to the 26-year-old, the franchise from Queens was not the team that offered the most money for his services.
A free agent like the Dominican was sought by all the MLB teams, but in the end only five negotiated with him. Soto revealed on the podcast Abriendo Sports that the Boston Red Sox, the Toronto Blue Jays, the Los Angeles Dodgers and the two New York teams started talks with him, but the Mets kept him.
“Five teams were finalists. The Dodgers, Toronto (Blue Jays), Boston (Red Sox), Mets and Yankees,” Soto said. “It was a collective decision, we reviewed every aspect of the proposal, everything. But, the Mets were not the team that offered the most money, there were other teams that offered more than the Mets.”
The Dominican broke Ohtani’s record contract of $65 million and if there were teams that offered him more money, one can only speculate that said agreement could have reached $800 million.
Soto’s numbers in his only season with the Yankees
The Santo Domingo born put up some great stats during the regular season with the Yankees in 2024, batting .288/.419/.569 with 41 home runs, 109 RBIs and 128 runs scored. He also showed great skills on the diamond in the postseason, posting a 1.160 OPS, four home runs and posting a .429/.556/.857 batting line.
The Yankees, for whom Soto played last season, reportedly offered Soto $760 million over 16 years. Soto has said that it was not a purely financial decision to choose the Mets over a return to the Bronx, however, saying in the podcast clip that it was a “collective decision,” echoing his explanation from his December introductory press conference.
“The Mets is a great organization,” Soto said after signing with New York. “What they have done in the past couple years showing all of the ability to keep winning, to keep growing a team, to try to grow a dynasty is one of the most important things. What you were seeing from the other side was unbelievable.”
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