Juan Soto was officially introduced by the New York Mets on Thursday in a press conference at Citi Field after agreeing to a 15-year, $765 million contract – the biggest deal in sports history.
“When you sit down and look at all the options, it gets to a point where it’s not about the money anymore,’ Soto said Thursday. “You try to find the best spot for you and your family, and to grow a family.’
Soto, 26, debuted as a 19-year-old with the Washington Nationals in 2018 and has since been one of the best hitters in baseball. He’s finished in the top 10 of MVP voting five times in the past six seasons and set a career high with 41 home runs in 2024, helping the New York Yankees reach the World Series after an offseason trade from the San Diego Padres.
‘Trying to win a World Series here – not only one time, but a couple more times – is going to be special,’ Soto said.
Soto helped the Nationals win a championship in 2019, celebrating his 21st birthday during the World Series, and has 11 home runs with 30 RBI in 43 career postseason games.
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“The Mets are a great organization, and what they have done in the past couple of years – showing all the ability to keep winning, to keep growing a team, to try to grow a dynasty – is one of the most important things,” Soto said.
The Mets made a surprise run to the NLCS this season, losing to the eventual-champion Los Angeles Dodgers in six games after narrowly making the playoffs, upsetting the Milwaukee Brewers and Philadelphia Phillies in the first two rounds.
‘I think it just hit home with me when I met him,’ Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said of the opportunity to pencil Soto into his lineup behind MVP runner-up Francisco Lindor. ‘It is an honor and a privilege.’
Cohen stressed his ultimate goal of turning the Mets into a destination and one of the elite franchises in baseball.
‘It’s obviously a huge move. It just puts an accent on what we’re trying to do,” Cohen said. “It accelerates our goal of winning championships. But more important, I think – I kind of said it in the locker room after one of our playoff victories – my goal was to change how the Mets were viewed. And I think we’re really on the path of changing that. We’re never gonna stop. We’re always in a constant state of improvement. But that’s my goal.”
Said Soto: ‘The vibes for the future and on the field helped lead to my decision.’
Juan Soto on Yankees
Asked at his introductory press conference if he had spoken to any of his former Yankees teammates since agreeing to a deal with the Mets, Soto said ‘I haven’t spoken to any of those guys’ since the World Series.
Soto spent 2024 with the Yankees after an offseason trade from the Padres and helped the team reach the World Series for the first time since 2009. The Yankees’ best contract offer was 16 years and $760 million to Soto.
Steve Cohen on Juan Soto
“I want to thank Juan and Scott (Boras) for believing in what we’re building here,’ owner Steve Cohen said Thursday. ‘It wasn’t an easy process … there were so many emotions to get to where we got to.’
Juan Soto contract details
Number of years: 15
Signing bonus: $75 million
Total value of contract: $765 million. That’s $65 million more than the 10-year, $700 million contract Shohei Ohtani signed last offseason with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Deferred money: $0
Average annual value: $51 million. Also a record, since a sizable portion of Ohtani’s contract is deferred until after his playing days are over.
Opt-out clauses: Soto has the right to opt out of his contract after the 2029 season. The Mets also have the right to void Soto’s buyout if they increase his salary from $51 million to $55 million beginning in 2030 for 10 years.
Potential total value of contract: $805 million, if the Mets exercise their option.
– Steve Gardner
Steve Cohen didn’t think Mets would sign Soto
Mets owner Steve Cohen told ESPN that he wasn’t feeling great about the team signing Soto – until agent Scott Boras called him on Sunday night.
‘Usually I’m pretty good at reading the signals. This one I totally missed,’ Cohen told ESPN. ‘Scott called me, and I realized, ‘Holy (expletive). This could happen.’ I didn’t expect it. I had no expectations it was going to happen. I was blown away.’
Juan Soto jersey number
Juan Soto will wear No. 22 with the New York Mets, his same number with the Nationals, Padres and Yankees.
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