The Mets are tied for the National League’s second-best record, the club has by far the largest attendance increase in Major League Baseball, and first baseman Pete Alonso is enjoying a resurgent year after a difficult free agency in the offseason. All is not necessarily well, however, in Flushing, N.Y., particularly around star acquisition Juan Soto.
The last two days have been marked by two separate incidents, one Sunday against the Yankees and another Monday against the Red Sox, in which Soto was criticized for not hustling out of the batter’s box. The first resulted in an out, while the second turned a potential extra-base hit into a single.
Those situations were joined by extensive commentary across sports media about Soto, his record-setting $765 million contract, and whether he’s living up to that financial largesse. WFAN personality Boomer Esiason wrongly suggested that Soto doesn’t fly with the rest of the Mets on road trips, an assertion quickly debunked by the Mets. Yankees TV play-by-play man Michael Kay then said on his ESPN radio show that he believes Soto wanted to stay with that team.
“People that I talked to on the Mets side, and they can deny it publicly, because, of course, that’s what they have to do, he is very, very glum around the clubhouse,” Kay said. “He does not have a hop in his step. He does not smile much. I’m not going to say he is unhappy. Because how can you be unhappy with a $765 million contract? But money is not a guarantee that you are going to be comfortable somewhere.
“Why isn’t he happy? It comes down to this: I’ll say it now, and it will be denied. Of course, it has to be denied. But I have talked to people that I respect. He wanted to return to the Yankees. That was his preference,” Kay said, suggesting that Soto’s family proved heavily influential in his choosing to sign with the Mets.
Soto additionally made a late decision Sunday to not wear a microphone during the ESPN national broadcast of the team’s series finale against the Yankees after previously agreeing to do so. Such last-minute player changes on that in-game element are not necessarily unusual, but given the spectacle of Soto and the teams involved, it was particularly noteworthy.
All of the current drama around Soto may be short-lived, particularly given the Mets’ ongoing success this season and the day-to-day nature of baseball. Soto, however, faced a new level of scrutiny from reporters after the team’s Monday loss to the Red Sox. He is hitting .246 with a .376 on-base percentage, eight home runs, and 20 runs batted in so far this season, and while more than two-thirds of the season remains and leaves plenty of time for a turnaround, he is well below his usual standards.
The Mets, meanwhile, have fallen a half-game behind the Phillies in the National League East division after spending nearly the entire season so far in first place.
“It’s a game of failure,” Soto said. “Sometimes, you’re going to fail.”
