Juan Soto's family to blame after he wanted to play for Yankees, not Mets

The New York Mets made the biggest move of the offseason when they signed Juan Soto. However, a recent report suggests he did not want to join the Mets in the first place.

Soto spent 2024 with the New York Yankees. He was a key player in leading them to the World Series, but his time in the Bronx ended up being just one season. The Yankees tried to keep him, but their offer was a 16-year, $760 million deal, according to the New York Post's Jon Heyman.

"It was a tough decision. (The Yankees) were number one … but we couldn’t get it done," Soto told Heyman. "But at the end of the day, things work for a good reason. I trust what we’ve done. And we’ll see what happens."

A recent report from Yankees play-by-play announcer Michael Kay confirms that Soto wanted to be with the Yankees, but it was not money that made him sign with the Mets. It was his family. The report came after sources inside the Mets clubhouse described Soto as "glum."

"It comes down to this. I’ll say it now, and it will be denied. Of course, it has to be denied. But I have talked to people that I respect. He wanted to return to the Yankees. That was his preference," Kay said. "His family said, 'You are going to the Mets.' His family felt very comfortable around Alex and Steve Cohen. And they said, ‘You are going to the Mets.’ And he is a guy that listens to his family."

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Soto still ended up getting a 15-year, $765 million deal, which makes it a little easier to be happy. However, the money can only get you so much. Soto himself admitted that he wanted to return to the Yankees, so reports about his unhappiness in Queens are not coming out of left field.

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