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New York Mets slugger Juan Soto

Juan Soto will be spending the next 15 years in Queens after signing a mega deal with the New York Mets last offseason, but announced plans to represent another team next year.

As Fox Sports shared in a post on X, Soto announced that he will be playing for the Dominican Republic in the upcoming 2026 World Baseball Classic. The tournament will give Soto the chance to help his home country rebound from an early exit from the last World Baseball Classic.

Juan Soto Looking for Redemption

As Fox Sports noted, Soto will be looking for a measure of redemption after the Dominican Republic failed to advance out of the opening round the last time he played for his home country.

“It will be the second time that Soto plays in the World Baseball Classic, with the Dominican Republic going 2-2 and failing to advance out of Pool D in the 2023 tournament,” the report noted. “However, Soto was one of the team’s bright spots, hitting two home runs and going 6 for 15.”

Soto had already hinted that he could be returning to play for the Dominican Republic, saying in March that he was just waiting on permission from team owner Steve Cohen.

“I might be. I need permission from the boss,” Soto told Newsday reporter Tim Healey, pointing to Cohen at a team practice.

Though Soto ultimately got the permission he was seeking, Cohen may have been a bit cautious about letting the team’s $765 million star suit up for his home country. Star closer Edwin Diaz was lost for the 2023 season after suffering a torn right patellar tendon while celebrating a win for Puerto Rico.

Juan Soto Just Wants to Play

Soto has helped the Mets jump out to a division-leading 28-16 record this season, despite a somewhat slow start. Soto is falling below his career averages with a .255 batting average and .845 OPS.

Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said it’s difficult getting Soto to take a break, saying he had to convince the slugger to take a day off at the end of the team’s three-game set with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

“It’s just an off day. Me trying to take advantage of an off day we have scheduled tomorrow,” Mendoza said, via SNY. “Hopefully give him a couple of days. It wasn’t an easy conversation last night when I presented it to him, but I thought it was best to give him today.”

The Mets dropped the final game of the series with Soto out of the lineup, but still won the series and head into this weekend’s Subway Series against the New York Yankees with one of the league’s top records.

Soto downplayed the importance of playing against his former team, however.

“I think the Subway Series is just another series where we have to go out there and try to win the,” Soto said in Spanish ahead of his weekend’s series, via NJ.com. “We have to keep moving forward, forget about who we’re going to face, and just try to win the series because, in the end, that’s what we’re here for.”

Nathan Dougherty is a sports reporter covering the NFL for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Buffalo Bills, Detroit Lions and Miami Dolphins. Previously he wrote for the Rochester Business Journal and served as the assistant editor of athletic trade magazines Coaching Management, Athletic Management and Training & Conditioning. He is based out of Rochester, New York, and loves everything football. More about Nathan Dougherty