The New York Mets won the best player on the free agent market this past winter, but they would have liked to have won their latest series.
The Mets fell to their crosstown rival New York Yankees in the Subway Series last weekend, casting a shadow over their best player in the process. After Juan Soto left the Yankees to join the Mets as a free agent, the series was even more closely watched than usual and it seemed as though Soto was struggling under the pressure as the Yankee Stadium crowds showered him with boos.
“Although Soto said he was ready for the homecoming, he was shell-shocked by the time Sunday night rolled around,” Bob Klapisch observed for NJ Advance Media. “With only one hit in the Subway Series, Soto couldn’t have picked a worse time to slump.”
In terms of wins and losses, the series doesn’t represent all that much in the greater scheme of things. Both the Yankees and Mets seem destined to play in the postseason, when the stakes will really matter. But Soto’s on-field struggles were paired with a report that he had backed out of a commitment to wear a microphone during Sunday’s game for ESPN, suggesting he is dealing with some mental fatigue from all of the pressure.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – APRIL 29: Juan Soto #22 of the New York Mets during the fifth inning of the game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Citi Field on April 29, 2025 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Dustin Satloff/Getty Images)
Satloff/Getty Images
According to Klapisch, Soto changed his mind on wearing the microphone because he wanted to avoid questions about his star ex-teammate.
“Soto told Mets officials he was tired of answering questions about Aaron Judge, sick of explaining why he chose the Mets,” per Klapisch. “It was a telling reversal.”
Klapisch added that Soto left the locker room after Sunday’s game and told a Mets official he’d be back, without returning.
If Soto is indeed buckling under the media scrutiny and pressure from Yankees fans, then he could be playing right into the hands of the rival crowd that was jeering him.
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