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By Jon Paul Hoornstra
Contributing Sports Writer
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Juan Soto became the highest-paid athlete in professional sports history in December. Signing with the New York Mets posed one small hurdle to overcome: his jersey number, 22, was already taken by infielder Brett Baty.
Thursday, speaking to reporters at the Mets' spring training facility in Port St. Lucie, Florida, Soto revealed he surprised Baty with an expensive gift that was well within his own price range: a $92,000 Chevrolet Tahoe.
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The SUV was Baty's "dream car," according to Tim Healey of Newsday.
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Baty will wear number 7 this season instead.
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The right to wear number 22 was included as part of the Mets' contract with Soto, which set a record for a professional athlete when it became official in December. He received a $75 million signing bonus as part of the deal and will be paid nearly $122 million in 2025 alone.
Soto's 15-year, $765 million base salary does not account for an opt-out clause after the 2029 season. If Soto exercises the opt-out, the Mets can void it by increasing Soto's annual salary from 2030-39 by $4 million, keeping him under contract for the full 15 years and $805 million.
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If he opts out, stays with the Mets, and wins the National League MVP each of the next 15 years — an extreme longshot, but technically possible — Soto will make $819.5 million over the life of the deal.
Baty, 25, has played 169 games for the Mets over the last three seasons and slashed .215/.282/.325.
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The tradition of a player presenting a gift to a new teammate in exchange for a jersey number is time-honored in baseball. When Shohei Ohtani set a record with his 10-year, $700 million contract with the Dodgers in Dec. 2023, he bought a Porsche for teammate Joe Kelly's wife in exchange for jersey No. 17.
Such gifts are particularly meaningful for players who have not yet attained enough service time to be eligible for salary arbitration or free agency.
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Baty got a nice signing bonus as the 12th overall pick of the 2019 draft ($3.9 million). But he played only 50 games last season and his prorated base salary paid out about $270,000 in 2024, according to Spotrac. Literally and figuratively, his new car will go a long way.
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