Inside The Mets

Juan Soto Gives Cryptic Response When Asked About Mets as Free Agency Destination

Former New York Yankees slugger Juan Soto was asked about potentially playing for the New York Mets in 2025.

Grant Young

Oct 29, 2024; New York, New York, USA; New York Yankees outfielder Juan Soto (22) on third base during the first inning in game four of the 2024 MLB World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images
Oct 29, 2024; New York, New York, USA; New York Yankees outfielder Juan Soto (22) on third base during the first inning in game four of the 2024 MLB World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images / Brad Penner-Imagn Images
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With the New York Mets' cross-town rival Yankees losing the World Series to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday, the Juan Soto Sweepstakes can now officially begin.

The consensus among the baseball community is that the 26-year-old Soto's two most likely destinations in free agency are the Mets and Yankees.

Some believe that the Yankees have the advantage, given that Soto appeared to enjoy his one season spent in the Bronx and that they made it to the World Series.

Then again, the Mets are also located in New York, made it to the NLCS (and played better against the Dodgers than the Yankees did), and appear willing to pay Soto just about whatever he wants in order to bring his talents to Queens.

However, when Soto was asked if he expects the Mets to pursue him in free agency when speaking with the media after the Yankees' Game 5 defeat on Wednesday, he didn't offer many specifics.

"I don't know what's the teams that are going to come after me," Soto said, per SNY. "But definitely, I'll be open to this and every single team. I don't have any doors closed, or anything like that. So I'm gonna be available for all 30 teams."

It would have been difficult to expect a more precise response from Soto, given his season with the Yankees ended a few moments prior, and he was surely still digesting that defeat.

Regardless, all indications are that the Mets will be one of the few frontrunners when Soto and his agent Scott Boras let the free agency race begin.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers the New York Yankees, the New York Mets, and Women’s Basketball for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco, where he also played Division 1 baseball for five years. He believes Mark Teixeira should have been a first ballot MLB Hall of Fame inductee.

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