Inside The Mets

David Stearns reveals 2-word reaction to Juan Soto signing

New York Mets president of baseball operations didn't mince words when discussing his reaction to Juan Soto choosing his team in free agency.
Grant Young|
Dec 12, 2024; Flushing, NY, USA; New York Mets general manager David Stearns puts a jersey on new right fielder Juan Soto during Soto's introductory press conference at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images
Dec 12, 2024; Flushing, NY, USA; New York Mets general manager David Stearns puts a jersey on new right fielder Juan Soto during Soto's introductory press conference at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

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Nobody was in the thick of the Juan Soto free agency sweepstakes more than New York Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns.

Of course, Stearns is on the front lines with all free agency negotiations — which has meant he has had an extremely busy (albeit successful) winter. But given the impact that Soto is going to provide New York for the next 15 seasons (plus the amount of money Stearns gave him to make an impact), there's no doubt that Stearns securing that signing had to be one of the highlights of his time as an MLB executive.

And Stearns revealed his exact reaction when getting the news of Soto's decision during a February 18 episode of the Meet at the Apple podcast.

"Holy s***," Stearns said when asked his reaction to hearing Soto chose the Mets.

"Literally, that was my reaction. And so I can only imagine the reaction of the people who weren't like in the middle of it," Stearns continued. "But that was my reaction. And it was a combination of excitement and still some shock. I was confident we put our best foot forward, no question I was confident we put our best foot forward. But I knew the competition was very stiff.

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"So when we got him, I was still in sort of that 'Wow, this is real,'" he continued.

We'd have to imagine that this two-word reaction from Stearns was the same sentiment just about every Mets fan when initially hearing about Soto deciding to sign with their team.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers the New York Mets and Women’s Basketball for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco, where he also played Division 1 baseball for five years. He believes Mark Teixeira should have been a first ballot MLB Hall of Fame inductee.

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