In the end, all it took to broker peace between New York Mets teammates Francisco Lindor and Juan Soto was a pitcher who didn’t even complete a full season in Queens. ESPN reported on Wednesday morning that the since-traded Freddy Peralta set up a meeting between Lindor and Soto in June. The two All-Stars reportedly have had a difficult relationship since teaming up last year, and the problems continued into the Mets’ chaotic 2026 campaign.
Speaking with ESPN, Lindor confirmed that he met with Soto and Peralta. "It was more of a conversation like we always have with our group of Latinos," Lindor said. "But I don’t want to comment on the details."
Curiously, Soto told ESPN that neither a meeting nor a discussion took place. However, he said he believes that the two veterans are connecting much better, not that it’s helping the last-place Mets too much.
New York Mets might regret trading Freddy Peralta, if only for his clubhouse presence
This past offseason, Mets owner Steve Cohen went out of his way to declare the team would never have a captain so long as he’s running the team. Those comments were widely interpreted as a shot at Lindor, who had been floated as a potential candidate to become only the fifth captain in team history.
With respect to Peralta, it shouldn’t have been on him to arrange a sitdown between two of the sport’s highest-paid players. If Lindor truly believes in his leadership ability, then he should have tried to break bread with Soto last season, especially before the Mets’ dreadful second half collapse.
Look, we’ve all been in these kinds of situations where a third party has to intervene amid a crumbling relationship. And to be clear, Lindor isn’t solely at fault. Soto, Cohen, lead baseball executive David Stearns, and former Mets manager Carlos Mendoza all deserve significant blame for the issues lingering into a second year.
The most pressing problem is that Lindor was willing to go on the record to confirm that a meeting occurred, but Soto said otherwise.
"There was no meeting, no discussion,” Soto told ESPN.
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It would be one thing if the Mets traded Lindor and he made those comments while playing elsewhere. At that point, it can become a “he said, she said” scenario that could end in one of several ways. But they still have to share a clubhouse, so what was the point in potentially lying? Either a meeting took place, or it didn’t.
No one is saying that Soto and Lindor need to be best friends. You’d never think it while watching them on Fox, but Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez had their personal issues for much of their time together on the Yankees. Eventually, they rekindled what had previously been a powerful friendship, and all worked out.
Telling the truth, though, would certainly help all parties. By this point, the duo could call a press conference and change their story about whether or not there was a meeting, but it wouldn’t matter. The only way that things can be salvaged is with a championship, and the Mets’ widespread dysfunction should create pessimism regarding their future playoff chances.
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