As Juan Soto’s free-agent sweepstakes came to an end and he ultimately signed a historic deal with the New York Mets, reports emerged alleging that the Yankees mistreated his family, which helped coax a move across town from the Bronx to Queens.
“That’s a lie,” Soto told Grandes en Los Deportes. “My family was treated very well by the organization.”
Still, reports emerged that Yankees staff and employees kept Soto’s family at an arm’s length at throughout his lone season in the Bronx, which featured a career-high 41 home runs and an American League pennant — the club’s first in 15 years. That included incidents of an overzealous Yankee Stadium employees not letting the Sotos enter certain areas.
Such speculation was further fueled by a report from NJ.com’s Bob Klapisch, who said that Soto’s mother “appeared to have a soft spot for Cohen and his wife, Alex.”
While that might have helped, it was most likely the Mets’ embarrassment of financial riches sealed the deal to get Soto to Citi Field, signing the most lucrative contract in professional sports history at 15 years, $765 million. Though he is getting a few perks that the Yankees would not necessarily add into their 16-year, $760 million offer, including a $75 million signing bonus to go with a suite at Citi Field and 22 Delta Club premium seats for his family. He will also be permitted to play 10 games of Dominican Winter League ball with Tigres del Licey.
