Juan Soto signed with the New York Mets in MLB free agency this past offseason. Soto landed a historic $765 million contract with the Mets. However, the outfielder recently revealed that his initial preference was to re-sign with the New York Yankees, via Tom Verducci of si.com.

“The Yankees were No. 1. From Day One,” Soto said.

The Yankees were linked to Soto throughout the offseason. As free agency continued, though, it appeared that the star 26-year-old could sign elsewhere.

Juan Soto enjoyed a successful — albeit brief — Yankees career. He was traded to New York from the San Diego Padres ahead of the 2024 campaign. The pressure of playing in a big market did not get to Soto, as he slashed .288/.419/.569/.989 across 157 games played. Soto added 41 home runs, 31 doubles, 109 RBI and a league leading 128 runs scored.

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The Yankees surely would have loved to have re-signed Soto. After all, they ultimately only had him on the roster for one season. The trade did significantly help the Yankees, however, as New York reached the World Series for the first time since 2009.

Although the Yankees fell short in the Fall Classic — winning only one contest in the best-of-seven series against the Los Angeles Dodgers — Soto helped the ball club enjoy an overall successful campaign.

Juan Soto is hoping to accomplish a similar feat with his new team sooner rather than later. The Mets feature no shortage of potential and could make a deep postseason run in 2025. His contract is for 15 years, though, so the team has plenty of time to compete with Soto leading the way.

As for the Yankees, they will attempt to move forward despite losing Soto. New York should still be able to play a competitive brand of baseball with superstar Aaron Judge on the roster. With that being said, losing one of the best offensive presences in the game like Soto is far from ideal.