The New York Yankees gave up a great deal to get Juan Soto in the Bronx, but his time with the team ended up being just one year. He revealed how free agency went down between the two sides while speaking to the New York Post’s Jon Heyman.
The New York Mets will visit Yankee Stadium for the first time since signing Juan Soto to a blockbuster 15-year, $765 million deal in free agency. However, Soto revealed that the Mets were not his first choice. The Yankees were his ‘number one,’ but offered him a 16-year, $760 million deal, according to Heyman.
“It was a tough decision. (The Yankees) were number one … but we couldn’t get it done,” Soto told Heyman. “But at the end of the day, things work for a good reason. I trust what we’ve done. And we’ll see what happens.”
Soto’s first and only season with the Yankees was a memorable one. He hit 41 home runs and led the American League in runs scored. He helped lead the team to a World Series, but they fell short to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Now, Soto is off to a great start with his new team in Queens.
He is slashing .255/.380/.465 in 43 games. He has a 1.077 OPS in the month of May. He and the Mets will visit Aaron Judge and the Yankees for the Subway Series. Judge is having a phenomenal season so far and should find himself in the finalists for the American League MVP Award when the year ends.
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Despite seeing the Yankees’ success this season and how Judge is playing, Soto is not sitting around thinking about how good they would have been had they had him as well.
“No, no. I made a decision, and I’m happy that I made it,” Soto said to Heyman. “You look around. We have an unbelievable team. And it’s going to be a good team for a long time.”
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