Juan Soto response to choosing Mets over Yankees was weak attempt to hide real reason

The biggest news this offseason came in December when Juan Soto agreed to a record-breaking $765 million contract with the New York Mets and officially spurned the Yankees. Soto spent the 2024 season in the Bronx and made it clear he was going to test free agency to the fullest.

It was his right to do so; he earned it. Nobody will ever fault him from taking the most money offered but ... it would just be easier if he admitted that was the reason why he chose to defect to Queens. In the end, the Yankees' highest offer was reportedly for $760 million, while the Mets guaranteed him $5 million more and added an additional $40 million in escalators. Yes, a no-brainer if you were looking for the biggest contract.

But over the weekend, Soto told Sports Illustrated that he ended up prioritizing the Mets because of their "family-friendly atmosphere," in addition to the fact that they were better set up for the long haul than the Yankees.

“As you see how long this contract is going to be, it just came down to that decision, you know?” Soto told SI. “What do they have in the farm system? How many times can we be good on this team? I know the Yankees are going to be good for the next five, six years. We don’t know after that.” 

He followed that up by saying ,"The Yankees were No. 1 from Day One" in regard to where he wanted to end up in free agency. The Yankees were reportedly leading the bidding until the 11th hour when Cohen swooped in and amended his offer in a last-ditch effort to convince the star slugger.

And it worked. Soto also got a luxury suite for his family at Citi Field (something the Yankees wouldn't offer) in addition to many other perks.

Truth be told, we will never actually know the real reason why Soto chose the Mets, but his argument of longevity hardly holds any weight if you look at it through a historical lens. Plus, when you realize how this all materialized rather quickly once Cohen shifted his focus to blowing the Yankees out of the water, it's hard to believe Soto finally had the realization, "Oh wait, the Mets' future is brighter than the Yankees', how did I not realize this weeks ago?!"

Juan Soto's stated excuse for leaving Yankees doesn't hold water

Even when the Mets had a better farm system than the Yankees or possessed superior younger talent on their roster, when did that do them good? The Mets' lone "upper hand" over the Yankees over the last four decades has been "we went to a World Series more recently than you did" from 2015-2023. We will admit, the Yankees aren't the greatest at developing young talent, but the Mets are far from the gold standard in that department.

The Mets might have a better farm than the Yankees right now (No. 12 vs No. 24), but the Yankees have all of Jasson Dominguez, Austin Wells, Ben Rice, and Will Warren (among others) likely slated for the Opening Day roster (and somewhat major roles with the team in 2025). Had all of those graduations not taken place within the last year or so, the Yankees would firmly be in the middle of the pack in regard to the rankings.

And the fact that they've graduated all of those guys actually sets them up better. They will have a definitive answer on their next 5-10 years sooner than the Mets will, who have major question marks surrounding young talent such as Brett Baty, Ronny Mauricio and Luisangel Acuña (in addition to other big names that still have to prove themselves).

How about the MLB rosters over the long term, too? The Mets' pitching staff has Sean Manaea, Clay Holmes, Frankie Montas and Kodai Senga signed through at least 2026 (and three of them are signed through 2027). We're not saying the Yankees' situation is pristine, but Gerrit Cole, Max Fried, Carlos Rodón, Luis Gil, Clarke Schmidt and Warren is objectively better than that.

We're also not sure how Soto can even imagine projecting what an organization will look like beyond five years. The Yankees have the reigning MVP on their roster alongside two former MVPs (Cody Bellinger and Paul Goldschmidt) and multiple Cy Young candidates. If you're looking to win championships, regardless of when or how they're achieved, the Yankees are built far better in the short term to do that, and they have proven the ability to balance that with at least an ability to contend in the larger picture. They've been above .500 since 1992. Every single year.

The Mets certainly have a more fresh, promising outlook under Cohen, who has been a godsend compared to how the Wilpons ran the organization. But outside of spending money on guys like Francisco Lindor, Edwin Diaz, Jeff McNeil, Starling Marte, Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander and Brandon Nimmo, they've had little success outside of their NLCS run last season. Could that be a sign of things to come, or was it a flash-in-the-pan moment that will be difficult to replicate?

That's something they'll be out to prove rather immediately, especially with the Yankees, despite their injuries, looking to be in a solid position to follow up their World Series appearance. We'll check back in with Soto in Year 11 and see how promising that Mets farm system is (with prospects they currently don't have) that supposedly sealed the deal for him accepting an offer for $45 million more.