Soto must improve effort before things get ugly

New York was abuzz when the Mets signed Juan Soto for 15 years and $765 million this past off-season.

Yankees fans were disappointed and angry that Soto not only shunned their team, but he chose the crosstown rival Mets instead.

Mets fans were elated. They got one of the best hitters in baseball and they beat out the Yankees. Mets owner Steve Cohen had taken over New York City from the Yankees. He had become the new George Steinbrenner (former Yankee owner), willing to put his money where his mouth is to get the players he wanted. He gave Soto the largest contract in baseball history.

But getting the player is only part of the victory. The players need to perform to justify and reinforce the “win.” So far, Soto is significantly underperforming his contract. He is being paid as the best hitter in baseball, and he certainly hasn’t been that so far.  

Soto is hitting .243/.374/.429, which is well below his career averages of .284/.418/.527.  He has eight home runs and 21 RBI. Those numbers aren’t horrible. In fact, his 131 OPS+ this season indicates he is 31 per cent better than the average hitter, but that is down from 179 OPS+ last season and 159 OPS+ in his career.

It’s not uncommon for a player to sign a massive contract and then struggle out of the gate with his new team. Players are human and sometimes try too hard if they believe the need to justify the magnitude of the deal they signed. Soto is clearly pressing and trying too hard.

At the same time, he’s facing criticism for not trying hard enough. Last Sunday night in a game against the Yankees in the Bronx, Soto hit a grounder to second base where the fielder, DJ LeMahieu, dove for the ball yet still recovered and threw Soto out at first base.  The replays showed that if Soto had busted it out of the batter’s box he might have beaten the throw to first.  

Then on Monday in a game against the Red Sox in Boston, Soto drove a ball toward the Green Monster. Thinking it was a home run, Soto went into his trot, only to realize the ball hit off of the wall. He was limited to a single. He assumed it was out of the park and it cost him. It was back-to-back days that he didn’t hustle.

The lack of hustle was bad enough, but his response to questions from the media made it even more egregious.

When asked about being slow out of the box by a reporter, he acted like he had no idea what they were talking about. He added that he is hustling, if you actually watch him on the field.

To be fair, he did make some excellent defensive plays on Sunday against the Yankees, running down some balls hit in the right-centre field gap. But when you are getting paid and underperforming, any lack of hustle is noticed in a big way.

Soto runs the risk of losing his teammates with his lack of hustle and losing the fans and media with his lack of accountability. If Soto had said that he made mistakes by not running his hardest, and that he should never assume anything on a baseball field and he will do better next time, the fans and media would have accepted that and respected his honesty. Instead, he acted like he didn’t know what all the hoopla was about.

Mets manager Carlos Mendoza addressed it with Soto and although he didn’t detail the conversation, he did say that Soto is a bit frustrated by his slow start and that may have caused him to pull back a bit on his running balls out.

His frustrations are understandable. He wants to perform at the highest level more than his GM, manager, teammates and fans want him to. But with great gifts, come big expectations.

You can make a case that no player has had higher expectations heaped upon him than Soto. This shouldn’t be a surprise to him. He played in New York last year with the Yankees.  He knows the fans and media are demanding and that they communicate with boos when they are unhappy.  

But fans and media in New York are patient if you give them your best effort. They are fair if you are accountable and honest. But they can turn on you quickly if you don’t honour those criteria. Players can also catch a break if they’re totally dominating with their performance.  The better you play, the more forgiveness you are afforded. The situation is always made worse if the team is losing games, but the Mets are 30-20 on the season.

This is not irreparable damage, but Soto needs to turn it quickly. Problems aren’t individualized in New York, they are accumulated. The next time he doesn’t run a ball out it won’t be just about that time. It will be added to these two situations and he will feel the wrath and judgment of all three.

Soto needs a close friend/teammate/family member/agent to tell him to stop hanging his head about the slow start and to start fighting, He has a victim look on his face and it needs to go away. Someone needs to tell him to start being a good teammate and to impact the game on the bases and in the field while he is waiting for his confidence to return at the plate.

Soto needs to get out of his own head and start competing against the opposition and not himself. He needs to be the biggest cheerleader for others, which will shift the negative energy off of himself. He needs to be accountable for his actions.

If he doesn’t, then this will be a long and painful 15 years in Queens. One thing I have learned is that you cannot take on the fans and the media in New York. They always have the last word. Be accountable. Be responsible. Be honest. Get some hits. And they will love you again.

As a GM, I would be letting my manager handle the initial conversation as the on-the-field stuff is his responsibility.  I would then support what the manager said to Soto and remind Soto what the fans in New York really want. Then I would call his agent (Scott Boras) and get feedback from him about where Soto’s head is at, and work the agent on getting the results we both need.

I believe Soto is going to get red-hot soon, Mets fans will be won over and these early struggles will be forgotten. It will be a footnote in his Hall of Fame career.