New York Mets outfielder and prized free-agent signing Juan Soto said that playing for the Mets and being the second batter in the team’s lineup has been “definitely different” compared to how things were last year when he played for the New York Yankees.
“It’s definitely different,” Soto told the New York Post before the Mets’ 5-1 April 14th win over the Minnesota Twins. “I had the best hitter in baseball (Aaron Judge) hitting behind me. I was getting more attacked and more pitches in the strike zone, less intentional walks, and things like that. I was pitched differently last year.”
Though a small sample size, Soto’s numbers through the first 16 games of this season are down across the board from last year. His batting average, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage are all lower in 2025 than they were in 2024.
“Why can’t we hold it true in both things? Juan Soto had a good time with the Yankees – he chose the Mets, he’s settling in.
He had a nice time playing with Aaron Judge and enjoyed the protection, but he personally looked Steve Cohen in the eye before signing with the Mets and… pic.twitter.com/SudRBX5BAy
— SNY (@SNYtv) April 15, 2025
“I would say I am getting a decent amount of strikes, but there’s some specific situations where pitchers don’t attack,” Soto continued. “I feel like I am trying to be the same: do damage when I can and whenever they want to attack me I take my chances and when they don’t I just take my walk. I am not trying to be selfish or anything and try to hit homers every time. I am just trying to take my pitches and take my swings whenever I can, and when they don’t want to, I pass the baton to my teammates.”
Soto is lucky that he has excellent teammates to pick up the slack. Though he’s not as good as Aaron Judge, Mets first baseman Pete Alonso is 11th in the league in batting average and third in the MLB in OPS (On-Base Percentage plus Slugging Percentage) behind only Judge and the Tampa Bay Rays’ Jonathan Aranda.
“Everybody has got a role, and I feel as a team, we have got to attack pitchers as a team,” Soto explained. “We don’t have to attack the pitchers as individuals. If they don’t want to pitch to me, I just pass the baton and let Alonso do his thing. If they don’t want to pitch to him, he should do the same thing.”
Mets hitting coach Eric Chavez didn’t sound too worried about Soto’s slow start.
“It just means there’s a whole bunch of homers coming,” Chavez said. “It’s April, it’s cold, he’s getting used to the new team and trying to figure out his routine. He’s walking a lot. He’s going to pile up numbers. You are going to be able to break it down however you want. Obviously, it’s not the best, hottest start he would want to get off to, but the bottom line is he’s getting on base and giving us good at-bats, and the numbers are going to be there.”
Juan Soto’s career splits in March/April before 2025:
125 G, .262/.399/.473, .872 OPS, 141 wRC+
Juan Soto’s career splits in all other months combined:
811 G, .288/.424/.542, .966 OPS, 161 wRC+@Metsmerized #Mets
— Mathew Brownstein (@MBrownstein89) April 15, 2025
Chavez added that he expects Soto’s statistics to improve as the season goes on.
“That is what good hitters do; they pile up numbers in a short amount of time,” he added. “But the consistent thing with him is he swings at strikes, he gets on base, and he’s going to do that the whole year. If this is his least productive 15 games, I am going to sign up for that.”
Later today, the Mets continue their road trip against the Twins. Tonight’s game is scheduled to begin at 7:40 p.m. EDT.
