The Mets’ Juan Soto celebration on Thursday went beyond Citi Field.
Owner Steve Cohen took the 26-year-old and his family out for steaks at Benjamin Prime in Manhattan after unveiling his new $765 million outfielder, according to TMZ Sports.
After getting started with a mozzarella and tomato salad, Soto went for the ribeye cooked “medium-plus,” per the report.
The roughly three-hour meal was capped with a themed cake and included a champagne toast.
The two sides are enjoying the honeymoon phase after Soto chose the Mets’ 15-year contract in free agency over a return to the Yankees, who offered a 16-year, $760 million contract with a $60 million signing bonus; he received a $75 million signing bonus with the Mets.
Soto also got a Citi Field suite for his family included in the deal, something he would’ve had to pay for with the Yankees, who have set that precedent with Derek Jeter and Aaron Judge.
The Red Sox, Blue Jays and Dodgers also pursued Soto in free agency.
“I feel like they did everything they had in their power to help me out, to bring me back,” Soto said of the Yankees on Thursday in Flushing as he wore his No. 22 Mets jersey for the first time. “But I had four other teams doing the same thing and trying to make me feel comfortable. At the end of the day, we looked at everything and we looked at what other teams wanted to do for the next 15 years, and I think we have the best chance to do it here.”
The Yankees acquired Soto from the Padres last offseason ahead of his walk year, and he hit a career-high 41 home runs batting ahead of Judge in the lineup, along with a .288 average, .989 OPS, 109 RBIs and 128 runs.
Soto then hit .327 with a 1.101 OPS, four homers and nine RBIs in 14 playoff games as the Yankees fell to the Dodgers in the World Series.
