Steve Cohen’s vision towards making the Mets one of the premier organizations in baseball took a huge step in the right direction on Thursday, when superstar Juan Soto was officially introduced as the biggest addition in franchise history.
For Cohen, the richest owner in the sport, the reported $765 million was money well spent, as Soto represents a young cornerstone that can help realize Cohen’s dream of bringing multiple titles to Queens.
“I think it puts an accent on what we’re trying to do,” Cohen said of the arrival of Soto. “It accelerates our goal of winning championships...my goal was to change how the Mets were viewed, and I think we’re really on the path of changing that.”
The Mets, after one of their most disappointing seasons in franchise history in 2023, took major strides towards changing the perception of their team by making a surprising run to the NLCS last season, and Soto clearly took notice, as he mentioned in his introductory press conference that watching the Mets from across town was impressive, and left him wondering what could be on the way in Queens.
Now, Soto will be a part of it, and his arrival represents a vision being realized by an owner who dreams of bringing a championship to Queens.
“I want to thank Juan and Scott [Boras] for believing in what we’re building here. It means an incredible amount to me and Alex,” Cohen said.
“I’m so happy we got there, Juan and Scott. It wasn’t an easy process. There were moments, so many emotions. It took about 10 days to get to where we got to. But it’s not about where you start, it’s where you finish, and we got there.”