How the Mets plucked Juan Soto from the Yankees

DALLAS — Talk about a New York City robbery. It wasn’t just the top free-agent jewel that the Mets stole from the Yankees; Steve Cohen hijacked the crown, too. 

Less than two months after Juan Soto helped take the Yankees to the World Series, Cohen’s Mets blew him away Sunday with the largest contract in professional sports history. Soto did end up going to the highest bidder — the Mets’ reported pact with the slugger is for $765 million over 15 years. But the Yankees’ offer apparently wasn’t too far behind, bringing into question whether Soto wanted to play in Queens all along. 

If that’s the case, then there could be a couple of factors that swayed him one borough over. 

The Yankees’ reported offer of $760 million over 16 years would’ve given Soto an average annual value of $47.5 million, which is just $3.5 million shy per year of what he’ll earn with the Mets. Soto’s Mets deal also reportedly includes a $75 million signing bonus. If that difference in dollar amount is all that mattered to Soto, then it makes sense that he agreed to the highest offer on the table. But since the Yankees’ offer was pretty close to what he ended up agreeing to, it sure seems like Soto wanted to make a statement that both fan bases in New York won’t take lightly. 

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The Mets — not the Yankees — represented the more appealing long-term destination to Soto in part because of how much they were willing to spend, no doubt. But Cohen also prioritizes getting to know the people in his organization — from players, to front office personnel, to security staffers — on an intimate level. He forms that relationship by routinely appearing on the field, walking through the Mets clubhouse, and just simply being available and around. Cohen’s wife, Alex, spends time around the Mets dugout, catching up with players during batting practice, too. It’s rare for any owner in professional sports to be as visible as the Cohens are with the Mets. Just take a look at the situation across town. 

Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner doesn’t mingle in the clubhouse, and is rarely spotted around Yankee Stadium to talk with his players. One former Yankees player who spent eight seasons in pinstripes said he spoke to Steinbrenner just once or twice during his time in the Bronx. Steinbrenner has a closer relationship with captain Aaron Judge, particularly after Judge’s frenzied 2022 free agency that resulted in Steinbrenner getting on the phone and completing a long-term pact with the Yankees slugger. Judge confirmed as recently as last month that he has an open line of communication with Steinbrenner, and he appreciates that availability from the owner. 

Apparently, Steinbrenner doesn’t share that same dynamic with many in the building, let alone the guy who was his No. 1 priority this winter. Soto asked Steinbrenner, when the two sides met in California last month, why he didn’t approach him during this past season in the Bronx, and he wondered why the owner didn’t try to form a closer relationship with Soto. Steinbrenner, fairly or not, said he wanted to give Soto space because he was so clearly locked in, enjoying his best career season, and he didn’t want to get in the way of that.

In the end, waiting to form a close relationship with Soto might have been a colossal mistake on Steinbrenner’s part. 

Cohen’s players routinely voice how much they love playing for the Mets because it feels like a family. There’s an open trust around Citi Field, particularly during this David Stearns/Carlos Mendoza era. Mets players have said they feel like they can be themselves in Queens. 

One recent moment that painted a picture of the Cohens feeling like “one of the guys” to left-hander Sean Manaea was when Alex Cohen’s dad, affectionately known as Mets grandpa, was doused in champagne in the middle of their clubhouse after they advanced to the National League Championship Series.

Through that everyday visibility, Cohen sends the message that he cares about his team. And for the players that go through the 162-game grind of a season, in hopes of reaching October and ultimately being the last team standing, having that open relationship with the top brass in the organization matters a great deal. Shortstop and de-facto captain Francisco Lindor says it all the time: It takes every single person in the organization to win, and that includes the responsibility of the ownership to form a close relationship with players, the front office working hard to fill roster holes, and the manager sticking up for his clubhouse. 

As MLB’s winter meetings unfold in Dallas this week, Cohen’s commitment to winning has never been clearer. 

No one was going to stop him from acquiring Soto, certainly not the crosstown rival Yankees nor MLB’s luxury tax penalty, when all he had to do was continue to increase his offer. When Cohen bought the Mets franchise in 2020, he said he wanted to win the World Series in the ensuing 3-5 years. The upcoming season will be Year 5. Snatching Soto from the Yankees was a statement-making step in that championship-caliber direction, and the Mets are a threat to win it all with the generational slugger suiting up in the orange and blue — for the next decade and a half.

Welcome to the newest era of Mets baseball, where the little brother might have just become the bully.

Deesha Thosar is an MLB reporter for FOX sports. She previously covered the Mets as a beat reporter for the New York Daily News. Follow her on Twitter at @DeeshaThosar.

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