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PORT ST. LUCIE — They smiled and hugged. Of course, they did. If you are reading this sentence and are a fan of either New York team, you hold a much stronger passion about which side of The Bronx/Queens divide Juan Soto ended up on than anyone in uniform.

If you were a Yankees loyalist at Clover Park on Monday about 2 ¹/₂ hours before first pitch, you probably would have seen a traitor in a No. 22 Mets uniform. The Yankees who all but formed a greeting committee near the visitor’s dugout saw a businessman who they enjoyed playing with last year.

Sure, Aaron Boone told reporters he conveyed to Soto that “he looks terrible in that uniform.” But that was a laugh line rather than animosity. Major leaguers are major leaguers for many reasons. One is that this is a game replete with failure and, thus, most have a near icy way of dispatching the bad quickly.

As a team, the Yankees took about 24 hours to go into Plan B post Soto’s signing with the Mets. His No. 22 was handed out to the already departed Dom Smith. On the occasions his name arose in the Yankees clubhouse for the past six weeks, it was usually associated with a question by a reporter. It is just how the game works. Short memories and limited grudges for those who are good on moving to the next pitch.