SOTO SURPRISE
The moment news broke that Juan Soto was spurning the New York Yankees 16 year/$760m offer, for the New York Mets 15 year/$765m offer, everyone connected to New York baseball circled the “Subway Series” at Yankee Stadium on their respective calendars.
The Yankees fans and Soto (at least for the first two days), didn’t disappoint. You knew the fans would come at Soto hard, but the ferocity that they exhibited while jeering and deriding Soto passionately was next level. They kept it going for 3 days and 27 innings.
I’m in the minority on this, but I thought Soto handled the first two days well. The “tip of the cap” didn’t work but was a good attempt at bringing levity to the situation. He smiled frequently, communicated with his former teammates and reached base safely 5 times in the first two games.
On the other hand, he didn’t do himself any favors on Sunday night. He was 0-4 with two Ks including a ground out to second that he seemingly could’ve beat out if he had hustled out of the box. Now, bad games happen, but it’s off the field where he disappointed. First, he reversed field and told ESPN that he didn’t want to wear a microphone while playing in left field (Brandon Nimmo replaced him and might’ve earned himself a second career when he retires). Next, he went out to see his family after the game saying he would be back in to talk to reporters. He didn’t come back.
I’m not surprised that Soto is showing signs of being human this season (i.e., batting .128 with runners in scoring position). As we learned last April and October when Aaron Judge struggled, even superstars slump. But I was surprised that he didn’t rise to the occasion on Sunday night baseball and fulfill his obligations. When you are the highest paid player in the game, you are going to be held to a higher standard.
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SHORT IS GOOD
When Anthony Volpe shortens his swing, and hits the ball to right field, you can start to dream about him fulfilling his promise. That’s what he did Saturday on back-to-back at bats, singling to right in the 6th inning and doubling to right in the 8th inning in the Yankees 3-2 loss to the Mets at Yankee Stadium.
Volpe, however, is still very much a work in progress as a hitter. There are too many at bats when he either tries to pull everything (like the 5th inning of the Yankees 8-2 win on Sunday) or loses patience (like the 7th inning of the same game). In both cases, a ground-out to short and a strikeout, he ended the inning and left the bases loaded.
The good news is his numbers are up across the board:
- OBP .323 (up from .293 in 2024)
- SLG .422 (up from .364 in 2024)
- OPS .745 (up from .657 in 2024)
I am still advocating for Aaron Boone to take him out of the middle of the order, bat him 9th and tell him to focus on getting on base. When (if) he starts clicking consistently, his strike zone awareness and speed would make him a perfect leadoff man. Taking the pressure off him by dropping him in the order may help him get there.
M&M BOYS
The Mets are second in the majors in wins with 29, and first in ERA at 2.87. That’s with their two most accomplished MLB starters Sean Manea and Frankie Montas combining for zero starts. They’ve gotten 9 starts from each of these 5 pitchers:
- Kodai Senga (1.43 ERA)
- Griffin Canning (2.47 ERA)
- David Peterson (2.86 ERA)
- Clay Holmes (3.14 ERA)
- Tylor Megill (3.74 ERA)
Manea (oblique) and Montas (lat) are both on the 60-day IL but are throwing live bullpen and batting practice sessions.
DON’T LOOK NOW
Devin Williams struck out 4 of the 6 Mets batters he faced, including Pete Alonso twice. That’s significant because when Williams struggled early this season, it was speculated that Alonso’s playoff homer off his change-up may have gotten into Williams’ head. The Yankees are back to having the strong 1-2 punch at the backend of their bullpen with Williams and the indomitable Luke Weaver who’s been lights out since being moved to the back of the bullpen by Aaron Boone at the end of last season.
However, the most encouraging performance this weekend came from Jonathan Loaisiga. In his first two games back since returning from UCL surgery, he looked strong throwing scoreless innings on both Friday and Sunday nights. The Yankees bullpen, including Tim Hill, Mark Leiter, Jr. and Fernando Cruz, is currently deeper than it’s been in years.
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