In the spirit of giving, new Mets outfielder Juan Soto plans to give some of the $765 million back to members of the community in New York and the Dominican Republic.
While he has yet to set up any sort of foundation or charity, it appears to be in the works with his new 15-year deal having been inked. Soto is looking at various avenues to help youth baseball players.
“The first thing that came to my mind, I gotta try to help a lot of people,” Soto said earlier this month at his introductory press conference. “Back in New York, there’s a lot of kids that have talent, and they can have a bright future but they don’t have the support. I feel like when you sign a contract like that, that’s the first thing it brings in mind — to help the community, and try to help everybody around my country, and try to create more chances [and] more opportunities for the people to grow and keep moving forward.”
Soto has already earned more than $82 million in salary throughout his career, more when you factor in endorsement deals and bonuses. The outfielder spent last holiday season delivering baseball gear and other supplies to families in the Dominican Republic, and in 2021, he used his All-Star prize money to help the Olympic athletes from his home country.
Soto made it to the semifinal round of the Home Run Derby at Coors Field before being eliminated by former Mets first baseman Pete Alonso, who went on to win his second straight Derby title. His All-Star week earnings came out to about $200,000, all of which went to sponsoring Dominican athletes in the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. Soto sponsored athletes participating in various sports at the urging of Emilio Bonifacio, his former Washington Nationals teammate. Bonifacio, a 12-year MLB veteran, helped the Dominican baseball team win a bronze medal, the country’s first-ever Olympic medal in a team sport.
“I know where they all came from and what they have been through,” Soto told the Washington Post at the time. “The process we have to all go through is hard. We have to go from one side of the country to the other for practices. We had to go hours and hours without eating sometimes. We have to practice and have no proteins, or shoes, or not the right clothing or equipment. So it’s pretty tough to do that and still be motivated. What they did for the Olympics, it’s just amazing.”
With his new contract, Soto wants to give kids optimism for the future through baseball, whether that future involves playing baseball or working in it.
“You never know who is going to be the next one,” Soto said at Citi Field. “You never know who is going to be the next Bryce Harper, or who is going to be the next Scott Boras, or even the next Steve Cohen. I want to give them a little hope. You. I feel like that’s one of the biggest things, just give them hope so they can keep playing.”