New York Mets manager Carlos Mendoza has provided the latest update on Juan Soto after his recent lack of effort and questionable decisions on and off the field.
“He’s human. He’s 26, man,” Mendoza told reporters. “He’s going to be fine. He’s Juan Soto.”
This comes just a few days after Soto has been called out for his lack of hustle as well as being described by some as “miserable” after the Subway Series against the New York Yankees and Monday’s game against the Boston Red Sox.
Despite all of the questions about whether or not Soto is happy with the Mets or regrets leaving the Yankees, Mendoza shut that down today as well.
“I think he’s comfortable, but everything is new — not only a new team, but just the new contract, the expectations,” Mendoza told reporters. “He’s always been on winning teams and won a World Series. But this is new territory for him. That’s our job as an organization to continue to help him.”
Mendoza is doing what every manager does by backing his star player to reporters and believing things will get better. The 45-year-old manager knows there’s more pressure on Soto than anyone else.
“When you sign that type of contract, there’s going to be more eyes on you, and he knows that and he embraces that,” Mendoza added to reporters. “He’s always been a superstar. And when you’re a superstar, you’re going to have a lot of eyes on you — every move you make, everything that you do. I think he’s comfortable. And again, I think he’s just a good player here probably not getting the results he wants.”
The Mets entered Tuesday 1/2 game behind the Philadelphia Phillies for first place in the National League East. If they want to overtake the Phillies, Soto will need to be a major part of that.
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