One day after Paul Skenes announced he would play for the United States at the next World Baseball Classic, Juan Soto of the New York Mets announced he would return to the Dominican Republic team.
Soto played for the Dominican Republic in 2023. He had two home runs and three RBIs during the last games. He had a .400/.500/1.000 slash line in four games. He and Manny Machado were tied for the team lead in home runs.
Soto will join the team after signing a historic 15-year, $765 million deal with the Mets. Plenty has changed for Soto since he last represented the Dominican Republic.
He spent 2023 with the San Diego Padres but was traded to the New York Yankees just one season before hitting free agency. He helped lead the Yankees to the World Series, but they came up short against Shohei Ohtani and the Los Angeles Dodgers. Soto hit free agency and signed a historic contract with the Mets.
Since the last World Baseball Classic, Soto has hit 84 home runs, has a .946 OPS, and has 238 RBIs. He hopes to lead the team to better results than in 2023.
The team went 2-2 and failed to advance from pool play. He is expected to have Fernando Tatis Jr. alongside him this time. With Tatis and Soto both expected to play, the Dominican Republic will have two of the best players in the world leading them.
