Juan Amazin’ Day as Mets welcome Soto to Queens

A Juanderful Day in Queens, with the Mets officially introducing the $765 million man Juan Soto - Image Credit: George Napolitano/Latino Sports

FLUSHING, NY — There was a different sense of excitement soaring through the air upon entering Citi Field on Thursday afternoon, one that reporters and the press have not witnessed before in Queens. 

Flowers and balloons positioned near elevators. Security stationed from corner to corner. A display of Latin-American cuisine provided to the national/local media in attendance, who were for the most part, dressed to impress. 

And then, cameras and microphones scattered across Citi Field’s Piazza Club, with hundreds of seats all set up, surrounding a stage topped by a table with four name cards. 

In the order from left to right — Mets’ owner/CEO Steve Cohen, president of baseball operations David Stearns, the owner of the largest contract in professional sports history, Juan Soto, and lastly, mega-agent Scott Boras. 

Juan Amazin’ Day for the Mets franchise essentially, as the organization held a press conference to officially introduce the 26-year-old Dominican superstar — after finalizing a lucrative 15-year/$765 million deal earlier in the week, with escalators that can take the overall value north of $800 million. 

“This is a huge day for the Mets. I am just incredibly excited,” said a smiling Cohen, who successfully pried away Soto from the Bronx after one season of playing across town for the Yankees. 

“I want to welcome Juan and the Soto family to the Mets family. I want to thank Juan and Scott for believing in what we are building here. That means an incredible amount to me and Alex (Cohen).”

Stated Stearns, as over 30 members of the Soto family had reserved seating directly in front of the stage, “What made this match so right is that throughout his career, Juan has embodied the fun and focus, the energy and passion, that reflects our values as an organization and a team. We’re thrilled to bring Juan into our team. We’re thrilled to bring his family into ours.”

Following a few minutes of opening remarks from both Stearns and Cohen, came the time for the $765 million man to speak. Provided below are the key takeaways from what the four-time All-Star, Soto, a former LatinoMVP award winner, and newest New York Met, had to say: 

Soto’s first comment as a New York Met

“First of all, I want to thank the Cohen family for making me be part of the Mets organization. Definitely, Steve and Alex, you guys made it possible. I’m really excited to be here and be a part of this family. I want to thank David and Mendy for their time and explaining to me better how we can make this a winning franchise and to keep growing more and more.”

“I want to thank my family, they were the number ones. They were right there every day since day one — believing in me, cheering for me, and being there in every step that I take in my life. And definitely in one of the biggest ones that I just made. I’m more than excited to share this one with them and to move forward from here. Thanks Scott (Boras) for all the knowledge and everything that you gave me. All the information and stuff to help me out to go through all this. The Boras Corporation, you guys were amazing — I think you guys are the best of the best. You aren’t my agent anymore, you guys are my family still. We will take that all the way until I am in my grave. Really happy, and more than excited to be a part of all of this.” 

Why did Soto choose to sign with the Mets

“The Mets is a great organization and what they have done in the past couple years — showing all the ability to keep winning, to keep growing and to try to grow a dynasty is one of the most important things. What you were seeing from the other side was unbelievable. The vibes and everything in the field and the future that this team has, had a lot to do with my decision.”

What makes the Mets a good place for his family

“The city of New York is always welcoming you and making your family feel great. It’s a lot to do with that. Definitely what they show, and what they have and what they do in here, I think it’s one of the biggest things for me. When I see and look at my family, I think they are going to have the best time. That’s what I looked at, and what they showed me. They always talk about family, they always talk about sticking together and stuff like that.”

“That’s one of the things that opened my eyes… That’s when I started thinking about all the love that they can give me for me and my family.” 

Soto’s impression on the Mets lineup

“What I see from these guys is they are hard workers. They are grinding every day and showing up every day… I think we have one of the best leadoff hitters in the game (Francisco Lindor).”

When asked if Soto has spoken to his former Yankees teammates 

“I haven’t talked to any of those guys. We talked to them through the playoffs, at the end of the playoffs, but after that, I made this process and haven’t talked to any of them.”

Soto’s message to Yankee fans

“I want to say thank you. I actually just want to say thank you to them. They really showed me all the love and everything that they had last year. They were right there, day in and day out. They really have a spot in my heart at the end of the day. You know, tough that we couldn’t get it together and try to be back and stuff like that, but definitely, I’m always going to appreciate what they did to me in 2024.” 

Plans on chatting with Aaron Judge and former Yankees teammates

“Yeah, why not? Definitely, at the end of the day, we’re still friends. We’re still cool. Everything that happens is just business wise. But the relationships that we created last year, I think it’s going to be there forever.” 

What it would mean to win a World Series in Queens

“It’s gonna be exciting. I know they’ve been in the World Series, and won it a couple times, but they haven’t done it in a long time. For me, I try to win a World Series here not only one time, but a couple times. It’s going to be special. That’s what we’re trying to do. Bring this team to the top again.” 

Soto’s perception on the Mets and Steve Cohen

“The way Steve (Cohen) talked about what he wants to do in the future…it’s one of the things that changed my mind about the Mets. We want to win and try to win as many championships as we can throughout these 15 years, so that’s enough for me.”

The first thing Soto wants to do after his massive payday

“The first thing that came to mind was, I’m going to try to help a lot of people back in D.R. There are a lot of kids that have talent and they can have a bright future, but they don’t have the support to do it. When you sign a contract like that, that’s the first thing that brings to my mind, to help the community and try to help everybody around my country and try to create more chances — more opportunities for the people to grow and keep moving forward.”

“You never know who’s going to be the next Juan Soto, the next Ohtani, the next Bryce Harper, who’s going to be the next Scott Boras, who’s going to be the next Steve Cohen. I want to give them that little hope so they can keep moving forward.”

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