Juan Soto has thus far enjoyed himself in a New York Mets uniform. While his individual production has fallen somewhat short of expectations — .845 OPS and eight home runs with a 1.7 WAR, how awful — the Mets are winning. A lot.
At 28-16, New York has the best record in the National League. The NL is as loaded as ever, but the Mets look the part of a potential World Series contender. As Soto gets his bearings and inevitably kicks it into high gear, the Mets will only get better.
Now comes one of his biggest tests to date. The Mets will travel across boroughs to face the New York Yankees on Friday, the first Subway Series of the 2025 campaign. It is Soto's first opportunity to face his former team in the Bronx. He expects a raucous (and potentially unforgiving) crowd.
When asked what he is most excited for, Soto gave a simple answer to MLB.com's Anthony DiComo.
"The crowd."
Then, when pressed on the potential for boos, Soto shrugged 'em off.
"I don't mind."
Juan Soto says he's excited for his first Subway Series as a member of the Mets at Yankee Stadium.
— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) May 15, 2025
What is the most excited for? "The crowd."
Even if they boo? "I don't mind."
For more news and rumors, check out MLB Insider Robert Murray’s work on The Baseball Insiders podcast, subscribe to The Moonshot, our weekly MLB newsletter, and join the discord to get the inside scoop during the MLB season.
Juan Soto is ready for boo birds in first Mets-Yankees series of 2025 season
To be clear, Soto will get booed on Friday. And Saturday. And Sunday. Pretty much every time he steps to the plate, makes a catch or is shown on the jumbotron. He did a lot for the Yankees in his brief one-year tenure, but his decision to leave — especially for their crosstown rivals in Queens — was met with mass disapproval. Because of course it was.
Soto's departure from the Yankees was not exactly smooth. He took the most money, as folks expected, inking a historic 15-year, $765 million contract from the wallet of Steve Cohen. But then came the reports of why Soto decided to leave the Bronx, and naturally, the "he wanted a big paycheck" explanation was not good enough.
We heard rumblings of how the Yankees mistreated his family and did not give Soto the freedoms he will now enjoy in Queens. While Soto shot down most of those reports, his subsequent comments about adjusting to life without Aaron Judge behind him in the lineup opened old wounds. Yankees fans are salty about him leaving such a good situation, even if the Mets simply paid him more money at the end of the day. Nobody stopped the Yankees from offering $800 million, except for Hal Steinbrenner.
As fate would have it, both New York teams will enter Friday's showdown atop their divisions. The Yankees have predictably struggled to replace Soto's bat, but production from newcomers like Paul Goldschmidt helps. Max Fried, the Yanks' splashy consolation prize in free agency, will also take the mound during the Subway Series, which adds to the anticipation. Mets fans have no love for Fried, a former Atlanta Braves stalwart.
A lot can and will happen in the days ahead. Either Soto dominates and Mets fans go home very happy campers, or the Yankees are able to get some level of revenge and a brief reprieve from the anxiety of another 162-game stress fest in the Bronx. Either way, Soto will be under the microscope and poorly received by the Yankees faithful. Let's see how he handles it.