Mets' Cohen thought Soto would return to Yankees: 'I was being logical'
Steve Cohen's checkbook won the Juan Soto sweepstakes - much to the surprise of the New York Mets owner himself.
"I was being logical. When you have (Aaron) Judge, it's tough to beat that," Cohen said in his first comments since reportedly inking the superstar to a professional sports-record 15-year, $765-million contract. "Juan was great. But what they had ... I didn't know how to solve that."
"There was a lot of emotion and a lot of ups and down, not knowing where you stood," he added.
Though Cohen was always hoping to recruit Soto to Flushing, he was aware of the incumbent New York Yankees being in pole position during the entirety of the sweepstakes, and he told Jon Heyman of the New York Post that he was convinced Soto was returning to the Yankees until the moment the deal was finalized.
Cohen's persistence reportedly helped seal the deal and make Soto a Met. The 68-year-old billionaire, along with his general manager David Stearns, hosted Soto's camp for a secret lunch meeting at Cohen's home in Boca Raton, Florida on Friday. The meeting went well, as Soto established greater trust with the Mets' brass, helping them push ahead of the Yankees and others, people close to the situation told Heyman.
Cohen upped his offer to $750 million by Sunday night and then to the winning bid of $765 million. The Mets' contract came in $5 million higher than the Yankees' final bid and likely well ahead of the other finalists.
Cohen, meanwhile, pulled out all the stops to ensure Soto would join his club. Perks in his Mets contract include a $75-million signing bonus - he was offered a $100-million bonus at one point, according to Heyman - no deferred money, and a complimentary suite at Citi Field for Soto's family. The Yankees reportedly weren't willing to give Soto a free suite at Yankee Stadium.
Soto gave the Yankees a chance to match the Mets' offer, but they declined to do so, according to Heyman.
By stealing Soto away from the Yankees, Cohen altered the entire face of New York baseball with one stroke of a pen. But he doesn't feel as though there has to be any animosity between the clubs going forward.
"The Yankees are the Yankees. I respect that," Cohen said. "This is not about the Yankees versus the Mets. It's about competing for a player. We both can exist in New York. There's plenty of room."