If you thought that collapsing out of a playoff spot in the first year of a 15-year, $765 million contract would ding Juan Soto's confidence at all, well, think again. Of all the people to blame for what happened to the New York Mets last season, Soto is very far down the list. And he's made clear early in Spring Training just what his goal is for the 2026 season: catching Shohei Ohtani in the NL MVP race.
"I'm going to be there every year, too,” Soto told MLB.com when asked about being in the MVP conversation in 2026. "So he better keep doing what he's doing, because I'm coming. [...] He's really good. He's really good. I've just got to beat him. Definitely, it's not going to be easy, but I've got to find a way to beat him.
I apologize if I'm reading too much into things. Every player in the league wants to win MVP, and every player as talented as Soto is has this sort of confidence in their abilities. Plus, as someone who grew up in the tristate area, I've made it my mission to avoid anything that might reasonably be confused for a drive-time segment on WFAN. So please know that I don't say this with confrontation in mind, but just as a polite suggestion: Maybe this isn't the best note to be sounding at this particular moment in time, Juan?
Juan Soto is deserving No. 2 behind Shohei Ohtani in NL MVP race
Soto has earned MVP votes in six of his eight MLB seasons so far, with three top-three finishes over that span — including each of the last two years. He's been one of, if not the, best pure hitter in the sport from the moment he set foot on a big-league diamond as a 19-year-old in 2018, and will remain so for the foreseeable future. As mold-breaking a talent as Ohtani is, it's not hard to imagine Soto taking home the hardware this season.
That's especially true when you take a quick survey of how the NL field is stacking up. Here's how I'd rank the top 10 most likely MVP candidates right now:
- RHP/DH Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Dodgers
- OF Juan Soto, New York Mets
- OF Fernando Tatis Jr., San Diego Padres
- OF Ronald Acuña Jr., Atlanta Braves
- RHP Paul Skenes, Pittsburgh Pirates
- SS Francisco Lindor, New York Mets
- OF Corbin Carroll, Arizona Diamondbacks
- SS Elly De La Cruz, Cincinnati Reds
- OF Pete Crow-Armstrong, Chicago Cubs
- DH Kyle Schwarber, Philadelphia Phillies
Acuña Jr. hasn't played more than 100 games since 2023, and his days of swiping 70+ bags seem to be in the rearview after multiple knee surgeries. Tatis Jr., while a spectacular defender in right field, hasn't been the same since his injuries and PED suspension. Lindor and Carroll are both in doubt for Opening Day due to hamate injuries. Paul Skenes is a pitcher, which means he'll always have an uphill battle for real MVP consideration. And De La Cruz and Crow-Armstrong, while prodigiously talented, come with major hit tool questions that leave them vulnerable to prolonged slumps.
The upshot is that, beyond Ohtani and Soto, this is a field full of question marks. And given Ohtani's injury history, there are plenty of pathways for a Soto win. Heck, if he'd avoided an uncharacteristically slow start last year — pretty clearly the product of pressing at the beginning of a new, $765 million contract — he'd have bested Ohtani at the plate as it is.
But the question isn't whether Soto is an MVP-caliber player; anyone who's ever watched him take an at-bat knows that the answer is yes. The question is whether the 2026 Mets can avoid the fate that befell the 2025 version and at the very least make it to the postseason. And for that to come true, Soto's focus should probably be elsewhere.
What Mets need from Juan Soto has nothing to do with an MVP campaign
Soto does just about everything well at the plate, but his on-base skills are downright silly: His 17.8% walk rate last year ranked in the 100th percentile, per Baseball Savant, and he's got a .417 OBP for his career. The man practically lives on first base.
That's useful for any lineup, but it could be vital for the Mets in 2026. According to FanGraphs, only four of New York's everyday position players — Soto, Lindor, Bo Bichette and Jorge Polanco — are projected to have OBPs north of .320, and only Soto, Lindor and Bichette clear the .330 mark. This team is going to give a whole lot of at-bats to boom-or-bust hitters like Luis Robert Jr., Brett Baty, Marcus Semien, Tyrone Taylor, Mark Vientos and rookie Carson Benge. The Mets have plenty of guys who can put a charge into a baseball; the best thing that Soto can do for this team is to simply avoid making outs, something he does better than just about anyone in the sport.
That is, unless he decides to trophy-hunt. You never want to relegate someone as talented as Soto to table-setting duties, but you can easily make the argument that the Mets will be better off with their best hitter not trying to do too much and simply getting on base for the guys behind him. That might run counter to his stated goal of chasing down Ohtani in the NL MVP race, but hey: He went to Queens because he thought they gave him the best chance to contend for years to come.
And that's not even considering the effect it might have on the Mets clubhouse. At the risk of verging into WFAN territory, this is the same team that just blew up its homegrown core amid rumblings that several of its most prominent players didn't like each other very much. Those rumblings implicated Soto; is it really the best look for him to be chasing individual honors when a new-look roster needs to come together to create a new kind of culture?