The New York Mets signing Juan Soto to a 15-year deal worth $765 million sent shockwaves all over the professional sports world. Not only did the Mets steal the 26-year-old phenom before he even reached his prime away from their crosstown rivals, the New York Yankees, but they gave him a contract unlike one we have ever seen before in any sport. I mean, $765 million for any single player is, frankly, absurd, especially one who is not fully well-rounded like Soto.
Yes, Soto is otherworldly as a hitter. In fact, he might be the best pure hitter in the game. The rest of his game, however, leaves a lot to be desired. His base-running is far from spectacular, and his defense over the course of his career has been flat-out bad at times. Soto's offense makes him more than worthwhile even with those concerns, but that doesn't mean those concerns don't exist.
While Soto's defensive struggles are well-documented, Mets manager Carlos Mendoza is seemingly going out of his way to praise the outfielder, who recently said “I want a Gold Glove more than an MVP, to tell you the truth.”
“He’s not just saying it,” Mendoza said of Soto’s goal before Saturday’s home game against the Toronto Blue Jays. “It’s the way he’s working, the way he’s going about his business, the details, looking for information, and behind the scenes with Antoan Richardson, our outfield coach, watching film and things like that.”
It makes all the sense in the world for the Mets to go out of their way to praise Soto, and to his credit, Soto has looked solid in the field so far in Queens. With that being said, though, Yankees fans know Soto better than Mets coaches do, and all they can do after watching him play in the field for a year is roll their eyes at all of this praise.
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Mets praising Juan Soto's defense ie eye roll-worthy for Yankees fans
Soto might've (somehow) been a Gold Glove finalist in his lone season with the Yankees, but that does not mean he was actually a Gold Glove-caliber defender. Soto ranked in the 13th percentile with -5 OAA according to Baseball Savant and in the 38th percentile in Fielding Run Value. He showed off a strong arm in right field, but his range in particular left a lot to be desired.
The Yankees made enough defensive miscues in the World Series to overshadow one major Soto defensive blunder, but his misplay helped play a major role in the Los Angeles Dodgers' crucial Game 1 win.
Again, this season, he has looked better in the field, as evidenced by his 1 OAA (81st percentile), but that's in a ten-game sample. Based on what he has been over the course of his career, there's little reason for Yankees fans to believe he'll suddenly become a great defender in right field.