Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

Juan Soto finally hit his second home run with the Mets in Monday’s 5-1 win over the Minnesota Twins, but that wasn’t his highlight of the night.

Soto’s home run was basically garbage-time garnish. It was a seventh-inning two-run shot off of Jorge Alcala that extended New York’s lead from 3-1 to 5-1. He’s batting .250 with an .829 OPS. By comparison, Soto hit .344 with three homers and 15 RBI in his first 16 games with the Yankees last year.

And wouldn’t you know it, Soto pointed to that as the reason for his slow start. It’s not so easy batting second in the lineup when two-time MVP Aaron Judge isn’t in the on-deck circle behind you.

“It’s definitely different,” Soto told the Post’s Mike Puma before Monday’s game. “I had the best hitter in baseball hitting behind me. I was getting more attacked and more pitches in the strike zone, less intentional walks and things like that. I was pitched differently last year.”

I’m sorry, what? Mr. $765 Million Contract is off to a slow start, and he cries about not having his fellow once-in-a-generation talent behind him? Is Pete Alonso chopped polar bear liver? Well, he’s batting .345 with four homers and 19 RBI thus far, so clearly he isn’t. And yet, Soto pouts about Aaron Judge.

Mind you, this isn’t just a Yankees guy dunking on Soto for picking the Mets. Anyone who’s paying attention knows it. He’s been good with his new team, but far from great. In fact, Soto’s performance has been pretty pedestrian.

Except just look at how Soto’s conducted himself for the past month. In March, he said the Yankees “were No. 1” going into free agency before he eventually signed with the Mets. He then took a shot at his old team saying that beyond the next five or six years, “We don’t know after that,” in terms of the team’s future.

And let’s not forget his interview with ESPN’s Jeff Passan, in which he called himself the best hitter in baseball.

Here’s a tip for Juan Soto: Shut up and just play the game. The fact that this was the Post’s early back page and not the Mets actually winning speaks volumes:

Granted, the eventual back page was the following, but even so:

Juan Soto talks too much. Plain and simple. That isn’t to say his comments were wrong. Batting in front of Aaron Judge last season (plus Yankee Stadium’s short porch) gave him a career season in 2024.

But there was no reason for him to whine about it publicly and on the record. It just sounds like an excuse. If he’s such a great hitter with such a great eye, why can’t he adjust accordingly as pitchers attack him differently? Last we checked, he’s a professional baseball player.

For example, Aaron Judge hasn’t hit a home run since April 4, but is batting .355 since. What’s Juan Soto even doing besides showing up to work with not-great body language?

Only Soto knows why he’s continually talking about the Yankees here and there. In fairness to him, he might not even be aware he’s doing it.

Regardless, Juan Soto needs to stop talking so much. It’s seriously starting to look like buyer’s remorse. It would be better if he just publicly admitted he signed with the Mets because they offered the most money with the most perks. The man knew what he wanted, and took it.

Yet, even Soto had to know him moving to Queens didn’t make the Mets immediate World Series contenders. They’re not even five years into Steve Cohen’s ownership and still rebuilding their farm system. Now cut back to the Yankees, who haven’t had a losing season in over 30 years.

Juan Soto made his decision. Maybe it’s time for him to live with it and speak less about his sudden lack of protection in the lineup.

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Josh Benjamin
Josh Benjamin has been a staff writer at ESNY since 2018. He has had opinions about everything, especially the Yankees and Knicks. He co-hosts the “Bleacher Creatures” podcast and is always looking for new pieces of sports history to uncover, usually with a Yankee Tavern chicken parm sub in hand.

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