Mets Owner Makes Major Juan Soto, Yankees Admission

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Josh Valdez | Last updated Mar 25, 2025 5:44 PM ET

The New York Mets have historically been in the New York Yankees' shadow since their inception in 1962, but the tide is turning. They signed Juan Soto to a 15-year, $765 million deal in free agency after he spent 2024 with the Yankees, signaling a shift in power in the Big Apple's baseball landscape.

Soto was traded to the Yankees from the San Diego Padres in December 2023 with one year left on his arbitration contract. The four-time All-Star slashed .288/.419/.569 with 41 homers and 109 RBI in the regular season and .327/.469/.633 with four homers and nine RBI in 14 playoff games, including the World Series.

However, Soto and his agent, Scott Boras, refused to give the 27-time champions a discount, as they only offered $750 million over 16 years. Still, Mets owner Steve Cohen wasn't always confident that he'd land the superstar.

When Soto and Boras met with Cohen, the slugger raised concerns about the Queens-based club not having enough protection for him in the lineup, via SI's Tom Verducci. Cohen eventually grew frustrated and felt like the meeting was pointless, as it seemed like the 26-year-old would go back to the Yankees.

Tom Verducci's SI cover story on the Juan Soto pursuit further explains why Steve Cohen thought that second meeting with Soto and Scott Boras was the worst meeting he'd ever hadhttps://t.co/imJuspxgEQ pic.twitter.com/i86Rx8IKC8
— The Mets Newsletter (@metsnewsletter) March 25, 2025

“He's going back to the Yankees. That was my gut feeling,” the owner admitted. “I was having a hard time coming up with a reason why he would join us.”

However, Boras then called Cohen the next day, and to his surprise, said that Soto liked him. The day after that, Soto told Boras to negotiate with the Mets, and they agreed to the biggest deal in sports history within a few hours.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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