The New York Mets won the “Soto Sweepstakes” in December, signing the star outfielder to a large contract and purging him from their crosstown rival New York Yankees. Ahead of spring training, Juan Soto, the top free agent acquisition of the offseason, is confident in the player he will be for his new squad.
“I don’t think I have to be The Guy,” Soto said via MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo. “I’m not trying to do more than I’ve done in the past,” Soto added. “I’m just going to keep [being] the same guy, try to do the same thing I’ve been doing year after year.”
Mets manager Carlos Mendoza admitted the addition of Soto to the squad has increased media interest in the team, already evident before spring training games begin.
“There’s a lot more cameras,” Mendoza said. “As soon as he stepped on the field, he was walking toward the cage, you could just feel it. And when he stepped in that batting cage with all the boys who were there… heads turned around. It was like, ‘Okay. Here he is.’”
Soto is coming off a season in which he hit .288 with 41 home runs – the fourth-most in MLB – with 109 RBI. The lefty from the Dominican Republic is hoping to turn in a career year in the first season of his new contract.
Juan Soto used to NYC vibe
Juan Soto already has a year of playing in the Big Apple under his belt, helping the New York Yankees reach the World Series in 2024. The star outfielder hopes to deliver similar results to his new club, which calls the same city home.
While the New York Mets might not draw as much attention as their cross-town rivals, Soto has grown accustomed to the uniqueness of playing in New York.
“[New York] is a different vibe,” Soto said via the New York Post. “You have so many eyes on you. You have so many teams that want to come in and beat you because you are part of the city. Broadway and everything, everybody wants to come in and beat the New York teams.”
Despite the hype Soto brings to the Mets, he pointed out that winning it all takes more than a single player.
“You need a whole team to go all the way,” Soto said. “You look around at the teams that win the World Series, it’s teams that have really good players, teams that have experience, youth. So I think it takes more than one guy, and when you see the Mets and the roster and what they have in the farm system, I think they have a chance to be in it for a long time. I think we have a really good chance to go all the way.”
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