REPORT: Juan Soto Reveals Weirdest, Most Dangerous Perk in $765 Million Mets Contract
New York Mets owner Steve Cohen admitted he was caught off guard when super-agent Scott Boras called to inform him that 26-year-old, four-time All-Star Juan Soto, the most sought-after free agent in Major League Baseball, would be joining the Mets.
“Usually, I’m pretty good at picking up on the signals, but I completely missed this one,” Cohen told ESPN insiders Buster Olney and Jeff Passan. “I didn’t see it coming. I had no expectation it would happen. I was completely stunned.”
However, as more details came to light, it seemed Cohen’s surprise may have been unwarranted. Not only had he offered Soto the largest contract in MLB — and professional sports — history, but the deal was also packed with additional perks to make it even more appealing.
Soto Reveals The Most Unusual Perk of All
Many details about Juan Soto’s record-breaking contract with the New York Mets have been widely reported, but not all of its perks have come to light—until now.
On Thursday, Soto himself disclosed what might be the most surprising and potentially risky clause in his deal. Despite owner Steve Cohen’s $800 million commitment to bring Soto on board to help deliver the Mets’ first World Series championship since 1969—something Cohen has vowed to achieve within the first five years of his ownership—the contract allows Soto to take the field for another team entirely.
According to a report from the Dominican news outlet Septima Entrada, Soto revealed that his contract permits him to play for Tigres del Licey in the Dominican Professional Baseball League (LIDOM).
The LIDOM is a winter league known for developing MLB prospects, but Soto, as a seasoned superstar far beyond the “prospect” stage, has a different motivation. In past interviews, he has shared that Tigres del Licey, based in his hometown of Santo Domingo, was his favorite team growing up. The reigning LIDOM champions are also the league’s most decorated franchise, boasting 11 championships.
Soto explained that the Mets granted him permission to fulfill a lifelong dream by playing 10 games for Tigres del Licey. While this gesture honors his roots, it introduces a significant risk, as winter league play could expose Soto to potential injury—something the Mets organization, given their enormous investment in him, might have preferred to avoid.
Perk-Laden Deal Called ‘Very CostlyTrain Wreck’
“For now, we’re discussing 10 games, but no specific time or location has been set,” Juan Soto said Thursday during a visit to Tigres del Licey’s home field, Juan Marichal Quisqueya Stadium, where he threw out the ceremonial first pitch. “We’ll see how things go this year with the Mets and my health, which we hope will be good. I don’t know if it will happen in three, five, or eight years. Yes, they gave me the green light, but there’s no date yet. Hopefully, it will be as soon as possible.”
The decision has sparked criticism, particularly from Bleeding Yankee Blue, a blog dedicated to the New York Yankees—the team Soto left behind to accept the Mets’ record-breaking deal. The blog expressed skepticism about the Mets’ decision to grant Soto permission to pursue his boyhood dream.
“After shelling out what amounts to the gross national product of a medium-sized nation, Cohen’s letting Soto trot off to the Dominican Republic for some off-season fun. It’s like buying a Lamborghini and handing the keys to a teenager with a learner’s permit,” the blog wrote on Thursday. “Cohen thought he was building a dynasty, but he might’ve just bought himself a front-row seat to a very costly train wreck.”
Critics argue that allowing a player of Soto’s caliber to participate in a high-risk winter league could jeopardize the Mets’ significant investment in him, adding a layer of uncertainty to Cohen’s ambitious plans to bring a championship to Queens.