Juan Soto arrived at the New York Mets' spring training feeling positive about New York's refreshed roster, saying the team is stronger even after losing important players from a disappointing 2025.
Speaking Sunday in Port St. Lucie, the $765 million slugger dismissed last year’s drama and talked about a fresh start.
“We had a great team last year,” Soto said upon reporting to spring training. “This year we have, I feel like, an even better team. It’s a great feeling. Definitely I played with those guys last year, but it’s a new year. We have forgotten about anything that’s gone on last year. Anything that happens, we focus on this year.”
New York made several changes to improve their defense and limit runs, addressing the struggles it faced in 2025.
The players who are no longer with the Mets include Pete Alonso, Brandon Nimmo, Jeff McNeil, and Edwin Díaz. The updated lineup now adds Bo Bichette and Jorge Polanco alongside Soto and Francisco Lindor. The Mets also added Luis Robert Jr. while losing some of their important players.
Meanwhile, Soto will take on a new position in his second season at Citi Field as the Mets prepare for 2026.
After his first season in Queens as a right fielder, the franchise player will now play left field full-time, according to Mets president David Stearns.
Soto is set to play left field for the Dominican Republic in the upcoming World Baseball Classic. In recent weeks, he discussed the move to left field for the Mets with manager Carlos Mendoza, according to Stearns.
“It made sense for us from a roster perspective so we’re going to go forward with everyone on board with it,” Stearns said. “It’s not something we really contemplated coming into the offseason, but as we had conversations over the last month it made sense.”
Soto is familiar with left field, having spent significant time there with the San Diego Padres and Washington Nationals.
Defensively, the 27-year-old struggled last season, ranking in the first percentile for range and just 18th for overall value, though his arm was in the 66th percentile.
Offensively, he excelled, finishing third in NL MVP voting with a .263/.396/.525 line, 43 home runs, and a career-best 38 stolen bases, leading the NL.
