Juan Soto reveals why he gave Mets teammate Brett Baty a car for special jersey

Juan Soto's record-breaking contract with the New York Mets was one of the defining moments of the offseason. The ultra-talented outfielder signed a massive 15-year, $765 million deal to move across town from the New York Yankees. The 26-year-old Dominican slugger is now poised to write his own legacy with the New York Mets, while showing why the front office was so aggressive in landing him.

While Juan Soto may need to prove himself to the New York Mets fans, he has wasted little time building chemistry with his new teammates. The four-time All-Star has has the jersey number 22 throughout his career, despite playing on several different teams.

After joining the New York Mets, his long-time jersey number was already taken by up-and-coming slugger Brett Baty. The 25-year-old infielder, who has yet to establish himself as an everyday player as the MLB level, was happy to concede the jersey number to the incoming Soto. That being said, Juan Soto did not let the gesture go unrewarded.

The superstar outfielder purchased a black Chevy Tahoe for Baty as a gift for giving up his jersey number ahead of the 2025 season. According to Juan Soto, the Tahoe was something that Baty was after and stated that the car cost $92,000. Soto spoke to the media about the decision to gift the vehicle to his new teammate.

"For me it was great. It was a great feeling. We used our sources and tried to make sure that it's a car that he liked. He was talking with one of our guys and he was letting them know that it was the car of his dreams and that he dreamed that he would have one of them, so I made sure he got it," Soto told reporters.

Rewarding teammates for giving up their jersey is not an uncommon practice, especially when the new player signs a massive contract. When Shohei Ohtani joined the Los Angeles Dodgers he purchased a Porsche Panamera for Joe Kelly's wife Ashley, who convinced the veteran reliever to give up his jersey number to the Japanese superstar.

Juan Soto has the second best odds of winning the NL MVP according to FanDuel

While Soto has been busy developing relationships with his new teammates, the outfielder is going to need to perform on the field after signing the richest contract in MLB history. There will certainly be pressure to perform, however given the success that Soto has enjoyed throughout his career, he should be able to keep performing as one of the best in the league.

This is a sentiment shared in the betting markets as well. Popular gaming site FanDuel has Soto with the second best odds to win the National League MVP and is currently sitting at +550. He sits only behind Shohei Ohtani, who is the overwhelming favorite at +155.