DALLAS – There’s discuss of a theft in New York City. It wasn’t simply one of the best free agent gem the Mets stole from the Yankees; Steve Cohen additionally took management of the crown.
Less than two months after Juan Soto helped lead the Yankees to the World Series, Cohen’s Mets shocked him Sunday with the biggest contract in skilled sports activities historical past. Soto ended up going to the best bidder: The Mets’ reported take care of the slugger is $765 million over 15 years. But the Yankees’ supply apparently wasn’t too far behind, calling into query whether or not Soto all the time wished to play in Queens.
If so, then there could also be a few components that influenced this in a district.
The Yankees’ reported supply of $760 million over 16 years would have given Soto a mean annual worth of $47.5 million, which is simply $3.5 million per yr in comparison with what he’ll earn with the Mets . Soto’s take care of the Mets additionally reportedly features a $75 million signing bonus. If that distinction in greenback quantity is all that mattered to Soto, then it stands to motive that he accepted the best supply on the desk. But for the reason that Yankees’ supply was fairly near what he accepted, it actually looks like Soto wished to make an announcement that each fan bases in New York will not take evenly.
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The Mets – not the Yankees – represented essentially the most enticing long-term vacation spot for Soto, partly due to how a lot they had been prepared to spend, little question. But Cohen additionally prioritizes attending to know the individuals in his group – from the gamers, to the entrance workplace workers, to the safety workers – on an intimate degree. He varieties that relationship by often showing on the sphere, strolling across the Mets clubhouse and easily being out there and round. Cohen’s spouse, Alex, spends time across the Mets dugout, even assembly with gamers throughout batting observe. It’s uncommon for an expert sports activities proprietor to be as seen because the Cohens are with the Mets. Just check out the scenario within the metropolis.
Yankees proprietor Hal Steinbrenner doesn’t frequent the clubhouse and is never seen at Yankee Stadium to speak to his gamers. A former Yankees participant who spent eight seasons in pinstripes stated he spoke to Steinbrenner solely a couple of times throughout his time within the Bronx. Steinbrenner has a better relationship with captain Aaron Judge, notably after Judge’s frenetic 2022 free company led Steinbrenner to make the decision and full a long-term pact with the Yankees slugger. Judge confirmed simply final month that he has an open line of communication with Steinbrenner and appreciates the proprietor’s availability.
Apparently, Steinbrenner would not share the identical dynamic with many within the constructing, not to mention the man who was his No. 1 precedence this winter. Soto requested Steinbrenner, when the 2 sides met in California final month, why he did not strategy him throughout final season within the Bronx, and questioned why the proprietor did not attempt to set up a better relationship with Soto. Steinbrenner, rightly or not, stated he wished to provide Soto house as a result of he was clearly caught, having fun with his career-best season, and he did not wish to get in his means.
In the top, ready to kind a detailed relationship with Soto might have been a colossal mistake on Steinbrenner’s half.
Cohen’s gamers often categorical how a lot they love taking part in for the Mets as a result of it seems like a household. There is an open belief round Citi Field, notably in the course of the David Stearns/Carlos Mendoza period. Mets gamers stated they really feel they are often themselves in Queens.
A latest second that painted an image of the Cohens feeling like “one of many guys” to lefty Sean Manaea was when Alex Cohen’s father, affectionately generally known as the Mets’ grandfather, was doused with champagne in the midst of their clubhouse after that they had superior to the National League championship sequence.
Through that day by day visibility, Cohen sends the message that he cares about his workforce. And for gamers going via the 162 video games of a season, hoping to achieve October and in the end be the final workforce standing, having an open relationship with the highest brass of the group is essential. Shortstop and de facto captain Francisco Lindor says it on a regular basis: It takes each single particular person within the group to win, and that features possession’s duty to kind a detailed relationship with the gamers, the entrance workplace working arduous to fill holes of the roster, and the supervisor who defends his clubhouse.
As the MLB Winter Meetings unfold in Dallas this week, Cohen’s dedication to successful has by no means been clearer.
No one was going to cease him from buying Soto, actually not the rival Yankees nor MLB’s luxurious tax penalty, when all he needed to do was hold growing his supply. When Cohen purchased the Mets franchise in 2020, he stated he wished to win the World Series within the subsequent 3-5 years. Next season will likely be Year 5. Snatching Soto from the Yankees was a decisive step in that championship path, and the Mets are a menace to win all of it with the orange-and-blue-clad generational slugger — for the following decade and a half.
Welcome to the brand new period of Mets baseball, the place little brother might have simply change into the bully.
Deesha Thosar is an MLB reporter for FOX Sports. He beforehand coated the Mets as a beat reporter for the New York Daily News. Follow her on Twitter at @DeeshaThosar.
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