Francisco Lindor didn’t need to say a word. The emojis said enough.
Shortly after news of the Mets’ historic contract with Juan Soto broke, Lindor re-shared a post from MLB’s official Instagram account that showed the two All-Stars standing next to each other.
Along with his repost, Lindor included three sets of eyeball emojis — a not-so-subtle acknowledgement that Soto was leaving the Yankees to become his teammate with the Mets.
Lindor was one of many in the baseball world and beyond to react to Soto’s eye-popping pact, which is set to pay the generational slugger $765 million over the next 15 years.
Soto himself appeared to celebrate the deal Sunday night in a hot tub, where his little brother, Elian Soto, poured what seemed to be a beer over his head, according to an Instagram video shared by the younger Soto.
“METS BABYYYYY,” Elian’s caption reads.
The contract is the biggest in MLB history in terms of years, total value and present-day average annual salary.
“It is certainly the biggest and most important transaction the Mets have ever made,” Gary Cohen, a play-by-play voice of the Mets for more than three decades, said Sunday night on SNY.
Mets owner Steve Cohen paid Soto, who finished third in the American League MVP race in his lone season with the Yankees, to form a star-powered pairing with Lindor, who finished second in NL MVP voting.
A four-time All-Star, Soto hit a career-high 41 home runs last season, boasts 201 homers through seven MLB seasons and is still only 26 years old.
Soto, who just helped lead the Yankees to a World Series berth, joins a Mets team that advanced to the NLCS last season.
His contract includes a $75 million signing bonus and an opt-out clause after five years, according to reports. The Yankees reportedly offered $760 million over 16 years.
“I don’t care what they paid,” former Mets catcher Paul Lo Duca wrote on X. “To take him away from the Yankees is a giant statement going forward and he’s the best all around hitter in baseball!”
Mets outfielder Starling Marte welcomed his new teammate in an Instagram post showing Soto in a Dominican Republic jersey during the 2023 World Baseball Classic.
Mets starting pitcher Christian Scott, meanwhile, posted a video of “The Office” characters Jim and Darryl sharing a fist bump, along with the caption “LGM” — an acronym for “Let’s Go Mets.”
Cleveland Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell, a noted Mets fan, shared a screenshot of a Facetime call with Soto, along with the caption “LFFFGGGMMMMMM.” It is not difficult to decipher what the “F” stands for.
And Knicks guard Josh Hart, a Yankees fan, simply wrote on X, “Damn…”
The Yankees traded a five-player package last December to acquire Soto from the San Diego Padres, most notably parting with right-handed starter Michael King, who went 13-9 with a 2.95 ERA and 201 strikeouts in 173.2 innings in 2024.
The Mets and Yankees were two of several deep-pocketed bidders for Soto, a list that also included the Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Dodgers.
Asked about Soto’s signing Monday during a Winter Meetings press conference, Red Sox manager Alex Cora said, “It’s good for baseball.”
