The New York Mets made a massive addition in the offseason by signing superstar outfielder Juan Soto to a mega contract worth $765 million over 15 years. It is the richest deal in the history of North American professional sports and will likely keep him in Queens for the remainder of his career.
Mets’ Juan Soto is settling in with his new team
It was reasonable to wonder how he would get along with his new teammates considering that the Mets are now his fourth team in five years, but he quickly seems to be growing comfortable with his new group. He is mashing this spring with a .357 batting average and four home runs and seems to be getting settled in to his new home.
The Athletic’s Will Sammon shared a story on SNY that gives insight on what Soto’s relationship with the team is looking like throughout Spring Training.
“In February, it was an early batting practice, it was Brandon Nimmo, Juan Soto, Pete Alonso, and Francisco Lindor. That’s a star-studded group, but it was batting practice. So they were working on direction hitting… it was boring, it was a snooze fest. And Juan Soto, toward the end of it, said ‘This is boring guys.’ He calls out ‘Last round, everybody work on your line drives,’” Sammon said, via SNY. “ So they do a little bit of a competition… all of a sudden, the juices started to flow,” Sammon continued. “You see them grinning in the batter’s box, it was a totally different vibe.”
The Mets have big hopes for 2025 and beyond
Soto joined a Mets team that shocked the baseball world last year with a remarkable run to the NLCS. Ultimately, their run fell short at the hands of the eventual champions the Los Angeles Dodgers, but perhaps their success last season is the start of something special brewing in Queens.
Adding Soto to the mix only increases their title odds, as they are now set to be one of the top teams in the National League. Soto was brilliant last season with the Yankees, smashing a career-high 41 home runs and finishing third in AL MVP voting. He helped the Yankees reach the World Series for the first time since their 2009 championship.
Now, he hopes to get the Mets to where they want to be. So far, he seems to be very comfortable with New York and could be the source of energy that will drive the team to success in 2025.