Juan Soto is officially back. Now we see if it’s already too late for the New York Mets.
The club officially activated its star outfielder from the 10-day injured list on Wednesday, amid a 12-game losing streak that has parked it at the bottom of the MLB standings. He will be batting second and operating as the designated hitter in his first game back against the Minnesota Twins.
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Soto drew some attention before the game, however, when he had this exchange while speaking with reporters:
Reporter: “You’ve been talking to guys throughout and trying to gauge where they’re at and try to lift them as we go along here?”
Soto: “No, not at all. They’ve been on the road most of the time, so I haven’t talked to them.”
The video:
That’s, well, pretty blunt.
While still only 27 years old, Soto is also in his ninth MLB season and is playing for the Mets on the most expensive contract in the history of baseball at $765 million. His last appearance was on April 3, when he sustained a calf strain while running the bases. The Mets won their next three games without Soto, then began their worst losing streak since the 2002 season at 12 games and counting.
As Soto notes, they’ve been on the road for some of that streak. The first five losses came at home against the Arizona Diamondbacks and Athletics, then the team traveled to the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs and was swept in both three-game series.
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They returned home on Tuesday and once again lost, this time to the Minnesota Twins on a meltdown by newly signed closer Devin Williams. He was definitely on hand for that game, as he was seen running the bases at Citi Field earlier in the day.
At 7-16, the Mets now have the worst record in MLB despite the second-largest payroll in MLB (behind the Dodgers). They are 8.5 games back from first place after playing only 23 games. They certainly have talent on their roster and should be better, but the unfortunate news is that no team in MLB history has lost 12 consecutive games in a season where it also made the playoffs.
Even if there’s some context we’re missing here, the highest-paid player on a team with playoff expectations saying he hasn’t tried to encourage his teammates amid a historic losing streak is an odd look at best, especially when that player’s clubhouse leadership has previously been questioned in some corners since moving to Queens.
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Obviously, that’s just one possible issue on a team with many issues right now. But it’s hard to see it being nothing.
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