Fresh off signing the most lucrative contract in baseball history, Juan Soto was introduced as a member of the New York Mets on Thursday. But he probably shouldn’t expect many congratulatory texts from his now-former Yankees teammates.
Soto — who helped lead the Yankees to their first World Series appearance since 2009 — decided to sign with the crosstown rivals for a 15-year, $765 million deal. Given how crucial Soto was to the Yankees’ success in 2024, one might have expected more of a recruitment effort from players like Aaron Judge or Gerrit Cole. But that wasn’t the case at all.
Speaking to reporters, Soto was asked if he had talked to any Yankees players during the free agency process. And that was when Soto revealed that he hadn’t spoken to any of them since leaving the clubhouse for the final time.
If that didn’t indicate just how unhappy Soto was with the Yankees’ clubhouse atmosphere, I don’t know what does. Typically, team leaders would do what they could to support (or even subtly recruit) a free agent of Soto’s caliber. Yet, in this case, the silence seemed mutual.
He was ready to move on from the Yankees, and he made that clear on Thursday.