New York Mets All-Star outfielder Juan Soto’s recent comment about former teammate, New York Yankees captain Aaron Judge, continues to hover over him amid his slow offensive start to the 2025 season.
Following the Mets’ 4-1 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday, Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor insisted that he and others within the clubhouse weren’t bothered by Soto’s words.
“Soto is a great team player,” Lindor told Manny Gomez of NJ Advance Media for NJ.com. “He worries about having good at-bats for the team. The truth is that nobody took what he said in any negative way. He’s one of the best players in the game, and all he wants to do is win games. I feel good that he’s able to express himself in whatever way he wants. And, at the end of the day, he didn’t say anything wrong or malicious. He said what he was thinking because he wants to get better.”
Soto was in the middle of a 13-game home run drought when he admitted that playing for the Mets is “definitely different” because he previously “had the best hitter in baseball hitting behind me” while with the Yankees. Some, such as longtime Yankees announcer Michael Kay, saw Soto’s praise of Judge as “kind of a backhanded slap at” Mets first baseman Pete Alonso.
While ESPN stats show that Alonso leads the Mets in multiple offensive categories, Soto has left much to be desired with his play after he signed a 15-year, $765M contract that could exceed $800M to join the club this past offseason. Across his first 19 games of the campaign, Soto hit .221 with three home runs, seven RBI and a .773 OPS.
Lindor knows what it’s like to ink a big deal but then struggle in the first half of a first season with the Mets. As recently as last spring, he heard boos during home games amid a slump before he and the rest of the team got hot.
“Stay the course. Stay focused on what you’re doing,” Lindor said regarding advice he has for Soto with the Mets at 12-7. “He’s someone who comes to the clubhouse and works hard. He just has to keep doing what he’s doing, and eventually, the results will come. Fans will say good things and bad things. At the end of the day, fans will end up appreciating and loving him.”
Per SNY’s Ben Krimmel, Mets manager Carlos Mendoza also came to Soto’s defense on Thursday by noting that the slugger is giving the club “great at-bats” despite the lack of production.
“I just want him to be himself, go out there, have fun and play the game,” Mendoza added about Soto.
