New York (AFP) – Juan Soto said Thursday the prospect of being part of a “dynasty” with the success-starved New York Mets had prompted his record-breaking $765 million move to the club. Free agent Soto stunned the baseball world earlier this week after agreeing to a 15-year deal with the Mets in what is the richest contract in the history of North American sport.
The New York Yankees had hoped to re-sign the 26-year-old Dominican, who helped the Bronx Bombers reach last season’s World Series, while the Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Dodgers had also been in pursuit of the star outfielder. But in the end, Soto opted to join the Yankees’ cross-town rival Mets, whose last Major League Baseball championship victory came in 1986.
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Soto said at his formal unveiling on Thursday that he opted for the Mets after being impressed by the team’s long-term vision and determination to challenge for championships. “The Mets are a great organization, and what they have done in the past couple of years – showing all the ability to keep winning, to keep growing a team, to try to grow a dynasty – is one of the most important things,” Soto said. “The future that this team has, it had a lot to do with my decision. What they showed me, and how the organization runs things, and how they’re gonna manage things, and how they look at their future – that was one of the things that opened my eyes a little bit more. How hungry they are to win a championship, to want to make a dynasty with the New York Mets.”
Soto batted .288 last season for the Yankees with 41 home runs, 109 runs batted in, and 129 walks. The Mets’ billionaire owner Steve Cohen meanwhile said Soto’s signing was a statement of intent as the team attempts to improve on last season’s surprise run to the National League Championship Series. “It’s obviously a huge move,” Cohen said. “It just puts an accent on what we’re trying to do. It accelerates our goal of winning championships. But more importantly, my goal was to change how the Mets were viewed. And I think we’re really on the path of changing that. We’re never gonna stop. We’re always in a constant state of improvement. But that’s my goal.”
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