Whether or not Juan Soto regrets leaving the New York Yankees to sign with the New York Mets this past offseason is a topic that has hovered over the All-Star outfielder amid his inconsistent offensive performances this spring.
During a recent conversation with Jon Heyman of the New York Post, Soto addressed his much-discussed free-agency decision.
“I made a decision, and I’m happy that I made it,” Soto explained, as shared by Alex Smith of SNY. “You look around. We have an unbelievable team. And it’s going to be a good team for a long time.”
Numerous reports have detailed how Mets owner Steve Cohen won the Soto sweepstakes by signing the slugger to a 15-year, $765M contract that could exceed $800M total after Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner wasn’t willing to go beyond $760M over 16 years. Additionally, the Mets reportedly felt “like a family” for the 26-year-old who entered free agency looking for a long-term home.
That said, Soto raised eyebrows when he suggested earlier this spring that he missed sharing a lineup with Yankees captain Aaron Judge. Judge has referred to Soto as “a good friend of mine” who simply made a call that “he thought was best for him and his family” following the 2024 campaign.
“It was a tough decision,” Soto admitted about leaving the Yankees for the Mets during his chat with Heyman. “(The Yankees) were No. 1…but we couldn’t get it done. 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 hasn’t been awful with the Mets this spring, but also hasn’t lived up to the expectations many had for him when he put pen to paper on his historic deal. Across his first 43 games with the Amazins, he slashed .255/.380/.465 with an .845 OPS, eight home runs and 20 RBI.
Meanwhile, the first-place Mets are 28-16 heading into a three-game series at the 25-18 Yankees that gets underway on Friday night.
Soto seems to understand he’ll receive negative reactions from home fans who flock to Yankee Stadium from Friday through Sunday:
