Juan Soto doesn't need to be 'the guy' with Mets

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — Considering he’s played for three different teams already, this isn’t Juan Soto‘s first rodeo. But it’s the 26-year-old’s first in Port St. Lucie, as the newest star of the Mets. And for the first time in about five years, he didn’t have to answer any questions about where he would be playing in the future.

The Yankee-turned-Met will be wearing blue and orange until he’s 40 after signing a record 15-year, $765 million contract with the Amazin’s in December.

“It’s very good to be sitting here and knowing that I’m going to be here for a long time and be here in the same chair for a long time,” Soto said Sunday at Clover Park. “It’s really exciting. I can’t wait to see how it goes by the years and how we can enjoy it and embrace it every year. And to have fun with it because at the end of the day, it’s going be my home, it’s going to be my family’s home, and we’re going to do our best to bring a championship to the New York Mets.”

Much ink was spilled over the winter about what Soto’s contract meant for the Mets. Now that he’s finally arrived, the atmosphere feels different. There were dozens of cameras following his every move Sunday, and fans lined up at the fences yelling, “Welcome to the Mets!” There was a noticeable buzz around camp as Soto took his first swings of spring.

How could fans not be excited? He’s Soto the savior. A generational player, one of the most dangerous hitters in baseball and one who could go down as one of the best ever. He’s the player the Mets needed to finally get them to the promised land, right?

Not so fast.

Soto was quick to dispel any notion that he alone can get the Mets to the World Series. While he understands that he’ll be a franchise face and a cornerstone of what the Mets hope is a winning team for years to come, he doesn’t seem to want to be a focal point of the team. If anything, Soto seems to like the fact that he’s on a team with star power.

“I never said I could be the guy,” Soto said. “You need a whole team to go all the way. When you look around, teams that win the World Series have really good players with youth and everything. I think it takes more than one guy.”

A long-term contract often carries leadership expectations and Soto isn’t naive to that. The best player on a team is typically expected to help set the culture, mentor young players and keep the team together during losing streaks. But Soto doesn’t feel that he needs to be a vocal leader. The Mets already have a few of those in Francisco Lindor and Brandon Nimmo and Soto doesn’t want to take over for them.

Soto came up as a young player in a Washington Nationals clubhouse seeing players with a variety of different personalities in leadership roles, like the fiery Max Scherzer, the flashy Bryce Harper, the business-like Stephen Strasburg and longtime veterans like Ryan Zimmerman and Howie Kendrick. In San Diego, he had Manny Machado, and last year in the Bronx, the clubhouse belonged to Aaron Judge.

Leaders come in many forms.

“I feel like guys can lead in different ways,” he said. “I’m just going to keep being myself, keep being who I am… I’m not going to try to take charge and be the leader and be the guy who’s rounding the whole team up. I’m here to be the same guy I’ve been since Day 1, just Juan Soto. Now, I’m in a different uniform, but I’m still the same guy.”

The same guy with the same championship aspirations. Soto came close to winning his second World Series last year with the Yankees. He was one of the few superstar players that opted not to go to Los Angeles to play on the Dodgers’ super team over the winter, showing that the New York market still entices some, no matter how harsh the spotlight can feel.

In the Mets, Soto sees a lineup deep enough to offer him protection. He specifically mentioned hitting in front of Pete Alonso, saying the Mets mentioned bringing back the free-agent first baseman several times when discussing their plans for the 2025 season.

“He’s one of the best pure power hitters in the league,” Soto said. “We’re trying to have some of that protection.”

Soto is protected in the lineup and somewhat insulated from the spotlight. Few athletes can truly escape it in this city, but he’s comfortable enough without having to be the main character. As long as he’s comfortable being the centerpiece of the lineup, that’s enough for him and for his teammates.

Still, that doesn’t mean he can’t handle playing in New York. It’s his baseball home for the next 15 years, and while this might be his first year in Queens, it’s not his first in New York.

“You’re in New York. You’re part of the city, it’s Broadway and everything,” Soto said. “Everybody wants to come in and beat a New York team.”