MLB Central on Juan Soto: “What happens if I’m paying you $50 million and you show up and give a half-tush effort?”

When Juan Soto penned a 15-year, $765 million contract with the New York Mets back in December, it was understood that he would be become the cornerstone of the team. Expectations were sky-high but just a few months on and after 47 games with the Mets, the Dominican has yet to reproduce his best form and surprisingly finds himself way down the league’s individual stats table in 98th.

Fans, journalists and even Soto’s own teammates have started to question his commitment to the team. And his attitude was under the microscope in the recent Subway Series showdown against his old team, the New York Yankees.

Juan Soto not hustling with the Mets

During the eighth inning, with the score tied 2-2. Soto hit a grounder up the middle against Yankees reliever Devin Williams. But once again he was slow getting out of the batter’s box and was halfway to first base when second baseman DJ LeMahieu secured the ball with a sliding grab.

When asked if he thinks he should be worried about the plays when he has been slow getting out of the box, Soto replied, “No, I’ve been hustling pretty hard. If you see it today, you can tell”.

In the three-game Subway Series, La Fiera went 1-for-10 with four walks, three strikeouts, two steals and two runs. His failure to hustle out of the box has angered fans, many of them voicing their concern on social media.

Soto’s attitude was discussed on MLB Central, with Robert Flores stressing that the Mets star made things even worse with his post-game words. “Here’s the thing about media interviews in general, a lot of it is informative - it’s not a big deal, but here’s where Juan probably made the mistake. Saying, ‘I’m hustling’... just play the game and everyone can move on, Just say, ‘You know what? I gotta be better’.

“But now it’s going to become a thing where the New York Post is gonna have a back page about it, The New York Daily News has to have a blog about it - everyone’s gotta have hot takes when in three weeks, we’re going to forget about it after he goes seven for 14 with five bombs and 17 RBI... It doesn’t matter”.

DeRosa lays into “lazy” Soto

“I’m with that,” Mark DeRosa replied. “What if I’m paying you 50 million and you show up and give me a half-tush effort. That’s what I want to tell people".

He continued, “Listen, I know they won the 2019 World Series, but no one was on Juan Soto on a daily basis with the Washington nationals - except for their local media and watching him hit, okay? Then he was in San Diego. No one was really on him in San Diego, except to watch him hit. Then he goes to New York. He’s got coverage - Aaron Judge covers him up. My only thing to Juan is, you put your manager, and I don’t know if you care, in a terrible spot. Mendy, right there, what do you want him to say? If he says, ‘Yeah, I’m gonna pull him and address it’ then he loses Juan for the rest of the year, and they need him right? Because he’s arguably a top 3 hitter in the game.

“If he’s too light, we kill Mendy for not being tough. I would say, it’s going to blow over but Juan, you can’t sit there and honestly say to yourself that in the last two nights that you hustle down the line. Don’t put your team and your manager in that spot. You’re paying him to hit, that is it, don’t ask for any more,” DeRosa concluded.

Juan Soto’s record with the Mets

Soto has played 47 games for the Mets so far in 2025, hitting .246 with 42 hits in 171 at-bats. He’s driven in 33 runs and hit eight home runs this season. He also has 37 walks, 33 strikeouts, nine doubles and 33 runs.

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