It’s becoming increasingly evident that Juan Soto’s decision to sign with the Mets was pushed over the finish line by the Amazin’s emphasis on family and what they could do to welcome the superstar slugger’s crew into the fold.
According to The Post’s Jon Heyman, the Mets provided family perks rarely if ever seen in player contracts. Included along with the previously reported suite at Citi Field for 15 years were four “premium” tickets and security for the family. According to the contract summary obtained by The Post, Soto is to receive “luxury suite for all home games, four premium seats for all home games, security for player and family at home and on the road and family services.”
It isn’t clear what “family services” refers to but there’s no evidence Soto or his family is receiving airplane benefits or clothes, as has been reported elsewhere.
It is clear Mets owner Steve Cohen and his family put an emphasis on the family atmosphere that Cohen’s wife, Alex, has highlighted since Cohen bought the ballclub. Alex, a co-owner of the team, and her father Ralph Avila, 93, attended the Mets’ initial meeting with Soto at the Cohens’ Beverly Hills home back in November.
The Mets beat out the Yankees’ offer by a mere $5 million (and one less year) when they handed Soto a record-breaking 15-year, $765 million contract earlier this month.
The Yankees made a financial offer above and beyond what they ever expected to offer but declined to include a suite at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees didn’t want to add a suite since the precedent had been set that their biggest stars, Aaron Judge now and Derek Jeter before that in his playing days, paid for their suites at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees were willing to discount the suite, which is valued at up to $1 million annually.
A suite at Citi Field for one game can range between $3,250 and $13,000 depending on the date and opponent. Yankee Stadium suites on average cost more.
Soto was also said to have been upset with Yankee Stadium security after they had turned away a family member and his chef/driver from certain areas, and while the Yankees were aware of the early-season incidents, Yankees GM Brian Cashman has said that Soto’s camp never mentioned it once during negotiations that lasted more than a month.
Cashman pushed back on those incidents as an issue during the Winter Meetings.
“However it gets played out [in media], whether it’s like, ‘The suite was the issue’ or whatever. It’s like: Was it really?” Cashman said.
And in terms of the incidents with security, Cashman said: “I’m not saying it couldn’t happen. But if it was such a big deal, I would have heard from [agent] Scott Boras.”
