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The New York Mets committed enough money to Juan Soto to probably fund a space program, so his effort every game will always be subject to scrutiny as though he's a literal star being examined by the James Webb Telescope.
Such was the case on Monday night during a game between the Mets and the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. In the sixth inning of the contest, Soto hit a line drive to left. Perhaps thinking that he hit a home run, Soto seemingly didn't seem to give maximum effort in trying to reach first base. However, the ball got knocked back into play by the Green Monster at Fenway Park, so instead of a potential double, Soto settled for a single.
Mets manager Carlos Mendoza seemingly thought that Soto didn't hustle enough after making contact with the ball during that play.
“We’ll talk to him about it,” Mendoza said after the game, per Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. “Tonight, obviously, if someone gets a hold of one and knows when he gets it, it’s Juan. He thought he had it. With the wind and all that, in this ballpark — anywhere, in any one, but particularly in this one with that wall right there — you’ve got to get out of the box. Yeah, we’ll discuss that.”
Soto, meanwhile, doesn't believe his hustle, or lack thereof, was the issue.
“I think I’ve been hustling pretty hard,” Soto said. “If you saw it today, you could tell.”
Soto decided to take his talents to Queens in the offseason, as he signed a massive 15-year contract with the Mets worth $765 million. It is still too early in his tenure with the Mets to absolutely conclude that he's worth all that money based on his production and play on the field, but so far in the 2025 MLB season, he is hitting just .246/.376/.439 with eight home runs and 20 RBIs to go with six stolen bases and 37 walks.
Soto and the Mets ended up losing to the Red Sox on Monday, 3-1. Now on a two-game losing skid, New York will look to get back on track when they hand the ball to Clay Holmes this Tuesday night for the second game of the three-leg series in Beantown.
