With the start of the 2025 MLB season upon us, one of the biggest storylines heading into the campaign is Juan Soto and the New York Mets.
The 26-year-old traded in the pinstripes of the Yankees in favour of their city rivals by signing a 15-year, $765 million contract.
Along with being the largest contract in professional sports history, the deal shines a huge spotlight on Soto in what should be a big season for the Mets.
Soto is no stranger to the NL East, having played for the Washington Nationals from 2018-2022. While he helped them win the World Series in 2019, he wasn’t playing for one of the most scrutinized teams in MLB.
The Mets are coming off a surprising trip to the National League Championship Series, and as a result expectations are soaring.
Soto will play a key role in any success the Mets have this season, and should things go sour, no doubt fingers will be directed his way.
Bad blood with Yankees fans?
Adding to the pressure is the fact that Soto will try and make the Mets the big team in a city that features the Yankees.
When Soto was introduced as a Mets player back in December, he tried to ease the tension with Yankees fans who were likely hurt by seeing one of their star players head to their hated rivals.
“I want to say thank you,” Soto responded, per SNY. “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, day out.
“They have a spot in my heart at the end of the day,” he continued. “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 for me in 2024.”
Yankees fans won’t have to wait long to make their feelings known as the Yankees and Mets will renew the Subway Series on May 16-18.
Joel Sherman of the New York Post has stated that Soto shouldn’t expect a video tribute from the team, though he did only play for the Yankees for one season.
However when it comes to what sort of reception he’ll get from fans of the Bronx Bombers, safe to say that Soto should expect a frosty reception at the minimum.
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