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One MLB insider has shot down a rumor that Juan Soto has been traveling on a private jet this season, after WFAN’s morning team incorrectly asserted that ESPN broadcaster Karl Ravech had said as much during the final game of the Subway Series on Sunday night.
“To clear up what others have asserted: Juan Soto does not fly separately from his New York Mets teammates on a private jet. He flies on the team plane. There is no private-jet provision in his contract for him or his family,” ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported on Monday afternoon.
All of this stems from comments made on WFAN’s morning show hosted by Esiason and Greg Giannotti, both of whom seemed to overly exaggerate what had been said by Ravech during the ESPN broadcast of the rubber match between the Mets and Yankees on “Sunday Night Baseball.”
Juan Soto does not fly on a private jet to Mets games, despite the rumors taking off on Monday. Jason Szenes / New York Post“Juan Soto just had a brutal three days,” Esiason said Monday. “He can smile all he wants. He can take his helmet off and acknowledge the boos all he wants on Friday night. At the end of the day, it was a bad weekend for him. So, now he and his family can get on the private jet and go up to Boston. That was interesting that Karl Ravech said that part of it yesterday.”
Esiason harped on what Ravech supposedly said later during the conversation with Gregg Giannotti when he brought up how Soto’s perks could alienate him from other players.
“Who knew that Juan Soto was getting a private jet on top of all of this to away games,” he continued. “The point being is that if Juan Soto’s putting up huge numbers and Juan Soto’s coming through, nobody really cares about that. Then, all of a sudden when that doesn’t happen and somebody else is coming for a contract extension, and the Mets treat that guy like crap compared to what that guy thinks Juan Soto has, that’s where the schism happens.”
The problem with Esiason’s assertion is that it wasn’t exactly what Ravech had said.
According to Awful Announcing, Ravech mentioned that Soto’s contract included family-oriented benefits such as charter flights for his family to attend games on the road.
The Post’s Jon Heyman reported in December that Soto, as part of his 15-year, $765 million deal with the Mets, received “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.”
A contract summary obtained by The Post included “family services,” but there is no evidence that includes airplane benefits.
Boomer Esiason claims he heard Karl Ravech say that Juan Soto takes a private jet to Mets games — but that’s not exactly what was said. WFAN/YouTubeGiannotti also claimed that Ravech had said Soto had “begged” not to be mic’d up during the game on Sunday and that’s how Brandon Nimmo ended up being the in-game interview instead.
Ravech reportedly did not use the word “beg” and simply stated that Soto had opted out 45 minutes before the game and Nimmo would be taking his place, Awful Announcing reported.
Sources had told The Post’s Dan Martin that Soto had changed his mind before the game and that it wasn’t unusual for a player to change their mind about being mic’d up.
The Post did reach out to ESPN for clarification on what had been said during the “Sunday Night Baseball” broadcast regarding Soto.
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