Steve Cohen opens up about expectations after signing Juan Soto

The New York Mets were largely flying underneath radars roughly 12 months ago after team president of baseball operations David Stearns spent the offseason making what many viewed as underwhelming moves. That won't be the case this time around coming off New York's trip to last year's National League Championship Series that was followed by the club signing All-Star outfielder Juan Soto away from the New York Yankees in free agency. 

During the latest edition of the "Meet at the Apple" podcast, Mets owner Steve Cohen addressed the expectations hovering over the franchise in the early days of spring training. 

"I love it," Cohen said, per Tom Hanslin of SNY. "That means you're onto something, you're doing something well. Last year, we might've been a little bit of an underdog. Now all of the sudden, people are noticing, 'Hey, this is a good team.' And that's the way I want it. We want to come into every season with high expectations." 

Soto finished third in American League MVP voting after he tallied 41 home runs and 109 RBI over 157 regular-season games. He then delivered the dramatic homer that sent the Yankees to the World Series, where they fell to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Soto now shares a lineup with 2024 National League MVP runner-up Francisco Lindor and slugger Pete Alonso after the Mets re-signed the first baseman via a two-year contract that includes a player opt-out after the upcoming campaign.

Much was made about the fact that Cohen gave Soto a deal that could reportedly exceed $800M total and included a suite for the Soto family and other "family services" from the Mets. The perception exists that Soto feels the Mets have more of a family-type atmosphere than the Yankees. 

"I'm still not sure exactly what were the major drivers that made Juan decide to come to the Mets," Cohen added during the podcast. " I think the family thing definitely helped."

As of Monday afternoon, DraftKings Sportsbook had the Mets tied for fourth among the betting favorites at +1200 odds to win this year's World Series even though it was learned earlier in the day that free-agent signing Frankie Montas seemingly won't pitch anytime soon because of a lat injury. It's unclear how Stearns and Cohen will react to that setback ahead of Opening Day.