Juan Soto has yet to play his first official game as a member of the New York Mets, but his impact has already been felt in the clubhouse during spring training. After signing a record deal this offseason for 15 years and $765 million, Soto has taken on a leadership role and changed the vibes in New York.
Juan Soto’s Impact for the Mets Is Felt On and Off the Field
Mets insider Will Sammon gave a behind-the-scenes look at how Soto has become a vocal leader for his new team, influencing players like Francisco Lindor, Pete Alonso, and Brandon Nimmo.
“It was batting practice, and Juan Soto, towards the end, goes, ‘This is boring, guys.’ He calls out last round, everybody work on your line drives, anything over the fence is an out.”
What's Juan Soto's impact in the Mets clubhouse?@WillSammon provided some insight on Baseball Night in New York
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Soto made it a competition, and suddenly, Lindor, Alonso, and Nimmo got into it. He turned a regular batting practice into a competitive environment, shifting the energy of the session.
When told his teammates saw this as leadership, Soto said, “I didn’t even think of it that way. I really didn’t. I just wanted to have fun because, honestly, I was a little bored and wanted to spice things up. It teaches us to value line drives early in camp and get a little competition going.”
Little things like that go a long way with teammates and say a lot about the makeup of a player who signed the largest deal in American sports history just a few months ago.
The Mets signed Soto with the expectation that he’d help elevate a team that reached the NLCS last season before losing to the Los Angeles Dodgers in six games. After all, Soto is just 26 years old and coming off a season with the New York Yankees in which he finished third in the American League MVP race.
The four-time All-Star is on his fourth team after stints with the Washington Nationals (World Series champion in 2019), San Diego Padres, and the Yankees. His .421 career on-base percentage is the best in the majors since his debut in 2018, and he’s coming off consecutive 100-RBI seasons for the first time in his career.
Soto also hit a career-high 41 home runs last season, but his impact off the field — like turning a routine batting practice into a competitive session — might be just as important for the Mets.