Juan Soto's half-hearted message to Yankees fans couldn't have been less convincing

Thursday was a great day to be a fan of the New York Mets. A few days after word broke of his 15-year, $765 million deal, we got our first look at Juan Soto in blue and orange, as the superstar outfielder was introduced as a Met in a press conference at Citi Field. For the most part, it was all love: Soto couldn't say enough nice things about his new team, owner Steve Cohen, and how rosy the future is in Queens.

Of course, just a few miles to the west, the mood wasn't nearly so sunny. While Soto and agent Scott Boras understandably wanted to focus on the future, they also faced some questions about the past, specifically the past year spent with the New York Yankees — and why it wasn't enough to keep Soto in pinstripes for the next decade or two. Soto tried to smooth things over, to tell Yankee fans that it wasn't them, it was him. Well, actually, "tried" is probably a bit strong; let's just say that we're interested to see the reception when Soto comes back to the Bronx next summer.

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Juan Soto's heart clearly wasn't in this message to Yankees fans

It bears mentioning that Soto was in a difficult situation here. No matter which team he chose, fans of the suitors who missed out were bound to feel rejected, and nothing Soto can realistically say — in his second language, no less — would take that feeling away. The bottom line is that Soto chose one team over all the others; call it an occupational hazard that comes with an $800 million contract.

Still, Soto probably could've come up with something a little better than this.

All due respect, Yankees fans probably aren't going to particularly care whether they do or do not have a spot in Soto's heart now that he's chosen to wear a Mets jersey for the rest of his career. Again, Soto didn't have many good options here, but a little bit more honesty — or at least taking even a little bit of time to address why he made the choice he did, and why he decided not to be a Yankee moving forward — would've gone a long way.

And as if that weren't tough enough, Soto went on to pour salt in the wound, spending less time on his affection for the Yankees than he spent detailing how little he's spoken to any of his former teammates since the end of the World Series.

Soto seems totally at peace with the decision he's made, and you certainly can't begrudge him deciding to take the most money to play for a team that just made the NLCS and seems positioned to compete for World Series for years to come. But if he thinks that his quotes on Thursday are going to earn him any good will in the Bronx, he's got another thing coming.