New York Mets owner Steve Cohen clearly wanted star right fielder Juan Soto — and he was willing to do more than throw nearly a billion dollars at him.
In addition to a record-breaking, 15-year, $765 million contract that can reach $805 million, Cohen and president of baseball operations David Stearns added other perks, which apparently extend to Soto’s family, too.
According to Bill Madden of the New York Daily News in a story published Dec. 14:
Besides a suite at Citi Field for 15 years, he also threw in 22 (for Soto’s number) Delta Club premium seats, security people for both him and his entire family home and away, and it is said, but not confirmed, the “family services” clause in the contract includes charter flights for his family to road games and a clothes allowance for his mother!
According to NJ Advance Media’s Bob Klapisch, “Soto’s immediate family, specifically his mother Belkis Pacheco, appeared to have a soft spot for Cohen and his wife, Alex.”
Soto was also given a $75 million signing bonus and no money was deferred.
Madden wrote that Soto’s average annual value will be more like $55 million and that MLB Commissioner “Rob Manfred’s salary police are all over this contract.” (Whatever that means.) The Mets can add $4 million per season to Soto’s deal if he opts out after Year 5, which seems likely if his Hall of Fame trajectory continues. Last season, Soto’s .288/.419/.569 line with 41 home runs, 128 runs and 109 RBIs were worth 8.1 Fangraphs WAR, giving him 36.3 WAR in his career, which ranks fifth in that time period (Soto is by far the youngest at 26).
The Yankees finished second for Soto as general manager Brian Cashman and owner Hal Steinbrenner got to 16 years and $760 million, per reports, but they would not include a suite in their package based on precedent.
“Some high-end players that make a lot of money for us, if they want suites, they buy them,” Cashman said.
With all of the money coming his way, Soto told reporters during his introductory press conference last week that he would invest some of it into the Dominican Republic. “Try to help everybody around my country, and try to create more chances, you know, more opportunities for people to grow and keep moving forward,” he said.
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