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Baseball super agent Scott Boras recently opened up about the details behind Juan Soto's development over the years and how he ended up with the New York Mets. Boras has been Soto's agent since he was a teenager and guided him in making the big decisions of his playing career.
Soto started his major league career with the Washington Nationals in 2018 and helped them to a World Series title while establishing himself as an elite player. It earned him a 15-year, $440 million offer from Washington, which he rejected. Later, Soto received extension offers from both the San Diego Padres and New York Yankees, but he had his sight set on free agency.
Scott Boras has revealed that entering free agency in Soto's prime was always the plan. This ultimately led the Dominican to the Mets, where he got the record-breaking contract he always wanted.
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Speaking on this week's episode of "In Depth with Graham Bensinger", Boras revealed some interesting details behind Soto's historic deal:
"Juan Soto is a very studied person. He is relentless for information," Boras said. "I had 68 meetings with Juan Soto from the age of 17 to when he signed with the Mets. And it was always about sharing more and more with him about teams and markets and evaluations also about greatness. How do you manage greatness?
"Remember that you're different. You're different in performance but we know you, we know who you are. So what I'm going to do is that I need to get you to free agency, because they will never offer you your value. Not an easy thing to explain to a 19-year-old, but he kept asking questions, kept learning," he added.
Boras also recalled how he helped Soto improve his hitting numbers over the years:
"I remember we talked about strike zone management and I used Barry Bonds and being around him. And what Willie Mays had taught him gave me such a platform to give Juan, and he adapted that form and his on-base percentage shot through the roof... He got some great advice from coaches about being patient and then we kept adding to that."
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Since completing his 15-year, $765 million move to the Mets, Juan Soto has had a slow start to the 2025 season. However, the New York club has been one of the top teams so far and Soto has been improving every week.
Juan Soto speaks out ahead of weekend trip to Yankee Stadium with Mets
The NY Mets will face the Bronx Bombers for the first time this season and Juan Soto is ready for what lies ahead. The outfielder is aware of his unpopularity among Yankees fans and says that it is only natural.
"It's going to be 50,000 against one. They're going to try to get to me, It's part of it. Whatever they do, they the right to do it," Soto said via MLB on FOX.
After his World Series run with the Yankees, New York fans expected Soto to sign an extension with the team. However, he chose their rivals across town and must now face the fan base he rejected.
