There is no doubt that the financial investment the New York Mets made in Juan Soto makes him unique from almost any other player in all of MLB. However, from almost as soon as Soto has landed in Queens, there have been some pretty major concerns about his leadership and how he gets along with teammates.
That only got worse when former Mets hitting coach Eric Chavez went public with his concerns. In particular, that the front office “coddled” Soto, and that Soto would go to the clubhouse without his teammates, rather than remain in the dugout, between innings.
Following the Mets’ 2-1 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday night, Soto was asked about those claims. However, he chose to avoid the question entirely.
“I have no comment to that,” Soto said.
Soto has missed a good amount of time due to injuries this season. In that time that he’s missed, the Mets are just 3-16. With him in the lineup, the Mets are 32-34. So, while their record with Soto isn’t good, it’s significantly better than without him.
Even with that time missed, Soto is hitting .301 with a .407 OBP, a .568 slugging percentage, and a .975 OPS. He also has 17 home runs and 39 RBIs.
Former New York Mets Hitting Coach Eric Chavez Ripped Juan Soto
GettyNew York Mets slugger Juan Soto at bat
Eric Chavez is a longtime player who joined the New York Mets in 2021 as an assistant hitting coach. After the 2023 season, he was moved to hitting coach. So, he saw the team both before and after Juan Soto was added.
For Chavez, there were some clear and obvious issues with how Soto was being handled. Those concerns went to the front office and David Stearns, not having enough accountability for their newly signed superstar.
“This is a lack of leadership, a lack of accountability, from the top down,” Chavez said on his EC3 podcast. “And we had an assistant GM who would sit there with [Soto] — the assistant GM would sit there with him — and kind of coddle him, tap him on the shoulder, without saying ‘Hey dude, how about getting in the dugout with your teammates.’”
Chavez added that he brought those concerns to Stearns. However, it quickly appeared that the front office had a different view of the situation.
“Those players need to learn that they’re not Juan Soto,” Stearns responded, according to Chavez.
Chavez is, of course, no longer with the Mets organization. He would be fired following the 2025 season.
Juan Soto Had a Difficult Game Defensively on Monday
GettyNew York Mets star Juan Soto in the field
If the public comments from Eric Chavez would have been enough to get a spark from Juan Soto, it didn’t show up in the field on Monday. There, Soto booted a ball in left field that would go on to become a Little League home run.
Worse for the Mets, that one run scored on the booted ball ended up being the difference. They’d lose 2-1.
“When you have an outfield like that, that it bounce a lot, you have to be aware because you can give up extra base hits really easy,” Soto said after the game.
At the plate, Soto was himself. He’d go 1 for 3 and drew a walk. Still, the defensive miscue ended up being too much to overcome.
In the process, the Mets made some bad history. They tied their franchise-record for quickest to 50 losses in a season.
Mets Star Juan Soto Dodges Questions of Preferential Treatment