Juan Soto made a bold decision last offseason to leave the New York Yankees for the New York Mets.
The Mets gave Soto 765 million reasons to make the arduous journey over the East River from Yankee Stadium to Citi Field. This came after he hit a career-high 41 home runs and helped the Yankees reach the 2024 World Series in what was his first season with the franchise.
Now, Soto is coming back over the Whitestone Bridge to play in front of the Bronx faithful for the first time since his free-agent departure, as the Yankees host the Mets for a three-game series from May 16-18.
That said, Soto isn’t the first MLB All-Star to play for both New York baseball teams. Here are 10 other All-Stars who played at least one season for both the Yankees and Mets, in chronological order.
Note: There are more than 10 players who have played for both franchises (e.g. Orlando Hernandez and John Olerud). This is a list of 10 players who earned at least one All-Star honor in their respective careers and played at least half of a season for both franchises. For example, Yankees legend Yogi Berra — who actually managed both teams — only played four games for the Mets, so he’s not included on this list.
Willie Randolph: Yankees from 1976-88, Mets in 1992
After spending his 1975 rookie campaign with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Randolph was traded to the Yankees and became an integral part of their operation. Playing the bulk of his big-league career in the Bronx, Randolph earned five of his six All-Star honors in pinstripes, was part of the Yankees’ 1977 World Series championship team and amassed 1,731 hits across 13 seasons with the franchise. He ended his playing career with the Mets in 1992, posting a .252 batting average in 90 games.
Randolph was later a bench coach and third base coach for the Yankees from 1994-2004. He later managed the Mets from 2005-08, highlighted by a 97-win 2006 season that saw them reach the National League Championship Series.
Darryl Strawberry: Mets from 1983-90, Yankees from 1995-99
Strawberry is arguably the most famous case of a player who suited up for both New York teams. An All-Star in seven of his eight seasons with the Mets, Strawberry was part of the 1986 World Series championship team and stands first in franchise history with 252 career home runs and ninth with 1,025 career hits. The star outfielder blasted 37-plus home runs and logged 100-plus RBIs in three of his last four seasons with the Mets, leading the National League with 39 long balls and a .545 slugging percentage in 1988.
Following three seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers and one with the San Francisco Giants (so, technically, Strawberry has played for all four New York baseball teams given the Dodgers’ and the Giants’ previous New York City stomping grounds), Strawberry joined the Yankees midway through the 1995 season. While he only appeared in 100 regular-season games for the Yankees in one of his five seasons (1998), Strawberry was part of three Yankees championship teams (1996, 1998 and 1999). In his best season with the Bronx Bombers (1998), Strawberry hit 24 home runs and posted a .542 slugging percentage across 101 regular-season games.
Dwight Gooden: Mets from 1984-94, Yankees from 1996-97 and 2000
Gooden was the cream of the crop with the Mets. Leading the league in strikeouts in both of his first two seasons and leading the way with 24 wins and a 1.53 ERA in 1985, the right-hander won the NL Cy Young Award and was part of the Mets’ 1986 championship team. Across Gooden’s 11 seasons with the Mets, he posted a combined 3.10 ERA and is second in franchise history with both 157 wins and 1,875 strikeouts.
After not playing in 1995, Gooden signed with the Yankees in 1996, reuniting with Strawberry for two seasons and helping the Yankees win the 1996 World Series. In just his seventh start with the Yankees, Gooden threw a no-hitter at Yankee Stadium. After bouncing around from 1998-2000, the Yankees brought back Gooden during the 2000 season, with him primarily pitching out of the bullpen for their eventual World Series unit that beat the Mets in the “Subway Series.”
Rickey Henderson: Yankees from 1985-89, Mets from 1999-2000
Henderson will always be the face of Athletics baseball, but the baserunning demon also played for both New York teams during his Hall of Fame career. Acquired by the Yankees for the 1985 season, Henderson came to New York in the prime of his career and continued to swipe bags like nobody’s business, leading the American League in stolen bases in three of his four complete seasons (1985, 1986 and 1988) with the Yankees and batting a combined .288 over his four-plus seasons before being traded back to Oakland during the 1989 season.
Henderson later played one-plus seasons with the Mets, batting .315 and stealing 37 bases in 1999 and starting for a team that reached the NL Championship Series. He was released by the Mets during the 2000 season.
David Cone: Mets from 1987-92 and 2003, Yankees from 1995-2000
Cone made 11 appearances out of the Kansas City Royals‘ bullpen in 1986 and was then traded to the Mets, with whom he thrived in a much different role. Becoming a primary starting pitcher, Cone was an essential part of New York’s rotation, averaging a 3.13 ERA per season across his first six seasons with the Mets. Cone’s career ended with the Mets in 2003, as he made four starts and five appearances total. Cone is sixth in Mets history with 1,172 career strikeouts and ninth with 81 wins.
Meanwhile, the Yankees acquired Cone in the middle of the 1995 season, and he would go on to be part of four World Series teams (1996, 1998, 1999 and 2000). Cone threw a perfect game for the Yankees in 1999. Across six seasons with the Yankees, Cone made a combined 144 starts and 145 appearances total, posting a combined 3.91 ERA.
Al Leiter: Yankees from 1987-89 and 2005, Mets from 1998-2004
Leiter began his career as a promising left-hander with the Yankees, but they traded him to the Toronto Blue Jays in 1989 to acquire outfielder and two-time Gold Glover Jesse Barfield. After being sidetracked by injuries, Leiter came into his own in the mid-1990s and found his way to the Mets in 1998, when he was arguably at his best.
Across his seven seasons in Queens, Leiter posted a combined 3.42 ERA over 213 regular-season starts and stands sixth in Mets history with 95 wins and eighth with 1,106 strikeouts. Ironically, Leiter made two starts for the Mets against the Yankees in the 2000 World Series, pitching through seven innings in both outings. The southpaw was acquired by the Yankees during the 2005 season, which was his last.
Carlos Beltran: Mets from 2005-11, Yankees from 2014-16
The Mets brought in Beltran to be an impact bat, and he played up to that billing. After an underwhelming 2005 season by his standards, Beltran drove in 110-plus runs in three consecutive seasons while hitting a career-high 41 home runs in 2006. Beltran made the NL All-Star Game roster in five of his seven seasons with the Mets and is seventh in franchise history with 149 home runs.
Following a brief stint with the Giants in 2011 and two seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals, the Yankees signed Beltran to add a proven bat to the equation. While they never made the playoffs with Beltran present, the nine-time All-Star outfielder posted a combined .270/.327/.470 slash line across his two-plus seasons with the Yankees, blasting 22 home runs in 2016 before being traded to the Texas Rangers.
Robinson Cano: Yankees from 2005-13, Mets from 2019-22
Cano was arguably the best second baseman of his generation and the best in Yankees history. Both a Silver Slugger and All-Star in five of his nine seasons with the Yankees and a two-time Gold Glover, the Yankees got the best version of Cano, who was part of their 2009 World Series team and boasted a career .309/.355/.504 slash line for the franchise.
Five seasons after leaving the Yankees for the Seattle Mariners, the Mets traded for Cano; he served a second suspension for performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) in 2021, causing Cano to miss the entire season. In the shortened, 60-game 2020 season, Cano had 10 home runs, 30 RBIs and a .316 batting average.
Curtis Granderson: Yankees from 2010-13, Mets from 2014-17
The Yankees acquired Granderson after their 2009 World Series triumph, and he became one of the most intimidating left-handed hitters in the sport upon arrival. After a respectable 2010 season, Granderson totaled 40-plus home runs and 100-plus RBIs in both 2011 and 2012, with him finishing fourth in AL MVP voting in the former year. Granderson was limited to 61 games in 2013 due to forearm and hand injuries, with the outfielder leaving the Yankees for the Mets in the ensuing offseason.
In four seasons with the Mets, Granderson posted an OPS+ north of 100 and averaged 23.8 home runs per season. “The Grandyman” started for the Mets’ 2015 NL pennant team; he was traded to the Dodgers during the 2017 season.
Luis Severino: Yankees from 2015-23, Mets in 2024
Severino was a highly touted prospect for the Yankees, and he pitched up to those expectations. After flashing promise in 22 starts from 2015-16, Severino established himself as New York’s ace in 2017, with the right-hander averaging a 3.18 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 225 strikeouts per season from 2017-18; he was an All-Star in both seasons. Unfortunately for Severino, shoulder and elbow issues, among other injuries, substantially limited him in the years that followed, making just 40 starts from 2019-23.
The Mets took a flier on Severino for the 2024 season, and he got his career back on track. Arguably the team’s ace, Severino posted a 3.91 ERA across 31 regular-season starts and helped the Mets go on a surprise run to the NLCS. Severino’s resurgent 2024 campaign helped him get a three-year, $67 million deal with the Athletics.
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