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For all the problems the Mets had in their disappointing season, falling one win short of the playoffs after being 21 games above .500 in June, David Stearns believes a lack of leadership was not one of them.
“I think we have leaders in our clubhouse,” the Mets president of baseball operations said on Monday at Citi Field. “I think we have leadership in our clubhouse. I think our players worked their tails off. I think they came to the park with the right attitude every single day, and it didn’t work. So I need to take a long hard look at our roster.”
For years now, Francisco Lindor and Brandon Nimmo have assumed leadership responsibilities on the Mets.
Nimmo, the longest-tenured Met, prefers to have quieter, one-on-one conversations with teammates. Lindor is known for his more outgoing, friendly, and easygoing communication style. They bring different things to the table, and they’ve grown to become close teammates. Multiple players stepping up and leading is a staple of these Mets.
Despite that steady presence, this year’s Mets team didn’t display the tight chemistry we saw from the magic of the 2024 team that was two games short of the World Series. Some of that was to be expected when veteran players like Jose Iglesias and J.D. Martinez, lauded as positive influences in the clubhouse, were not signed to return to the Mets.
But another high-profile figure entered the picture this season. In December, Juan Soto joined the fold when he signed a 15-year contract to play in Queens. Soon, the superstar’s business-like personality and own style of leadership became a part of the team’s chemistry.
“I always want to help in any way I can,” Soto said last week at Citi Field. “Definitely, I’m not the guy that is going to be on you all the time. But definitely when you have a question or any thoughts that I can help with, I’ll be open to do it. So that’s the kind of player I am.”
Year one in Queens fell short for Juan Soto, but he did explain how he found good chemistry with his Mets teammates. (Daniel Bartel/Getty Images)
Players looked up to Soto and respected the way he carried himself this season. The right fielder finished the year with the third-highest OPS (.921) in the National League.
“Especially me, for a young player, we learn a lot from him,” Ronny Maurcio said of Soto. “Just watching him every day, how he works and how he plays every day. I want to be like him. So I spend more time with him.”
“As a teammate, we love him,” Edwin Diaz said of Soto. “He’s pushing everyone to be better, because every time he’s doing such amazing things on the field, as a player, you want to help him to win. Every time he hits a home run to take the lead, as a pitcher, I’m fired up to get three outs to give the team a chance to win.”
Soto, for his part, joined the Mets with the reputation that he keeps to himself.
“He’s away from the world,” Lindor said of Soto’s personality earlier this month. “It’s him, his family, his little group, and then that’s it. He comes in and out. He shares moments with us. But he’s said it multiple times: ‘I’m quiet. I just want to come in. Win. Do my thing.’ That’s just who he is. He’s just in and out, in and out, in and out. And that’s perfectly fine.
“At the end of the day, not everyone needs to be this big personality. We all love him. We respect how he’s gone about it. He makes us better.”
Picking up on the ‘Mets way’
While most Mets players accepted Soto’s reclusive personality, Starling Marte didn’t.
“He sometimes feels like he has to be separate from us,” Marte said. “But no, I say, he has to be closer.”
Starling Marte had other teammates build a rapport with Juan Soto. (Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
Throughout the season, Marte encouraged younger players to go up to Soto and pick his brain. He believed they may have been intimidated by Soto or scared to talk to him. Other times, Marte pulled Soto in front of the camera in the dugout after he hit a home run, a team tradition that dated back to last season’s OMG Mets. To bond with each other and disconnect from work, Soto, Marte, and Mauricio played dominoes and video games in hotel rooms during road trips.
Sometimes, Marte said, he would hit Soto on the head, or punch him in the arm. It was his way of making sure Soto felt light and comfortable with his new team.
“Some players are different. Nothing we can do with that,” Marte said. “But something I can do is talk to him, (tell him to) come close to us. Jog with us. Bring more energy or emotion. I tell him, ‘I want to see you smiling more. It’s something that, maybe you feel pressure. But it’s something you can take away by talking to us, laughing with us. I want to see that. But, no rush, no rush. When you feel like you can do it, you do it.’
Soto appreciated Marte taking him under his wing this season.
“He helped me big time in the transition to the Mets,” Soto said. “He’s the guy who I’m talking to every day, teaching me, and showing me the Mets way.”
Lindor credited Soto for being able to filter out any distractions in his first year with the Mets. And Soto’s narrow focus seemed to help the slugger record a career-best 43 home runs and 38 stolen bases this year.
Soto focused on putting up good numbers and helping the team win, Lindor said, which was a departure from how the shortstop navigated his first season in Queens. In his 2021 debut Mets season, Lindor recorded career lows in batting average (.230) and OPS (.734). Unlike Soto, Lindor had a difficult time adjusting to the higher expectations and pressure of playing in New York.
“He’s completely different than how I was,” Lindor said. “I tried to hug too much. And he has a good understanding of what he can hug and stay within that. He hasn’t changed once. So he’s definitely ahead of where I was, and he’s ahead of his age too.”
Even if it didn’t show up in Soto’s numbers, getting acclimated to a new team carries its own weight. That goes the other way, too. For some teammates, Soto’s business-like attitude could be intimidating. With Marte’s help, Soto came out of his shell a little more.
It’s possible the superstar just needs more time to get used to what he characterized as “the Mets way.”
“It’s my fourth different team in four years, so I’ve been learning that things are going to happen organically,” Soto said. “I don’t have to push it. I don’t have to try. For me, the talks are going to come whenever you sit down with your teammates, go out for dinners and stuff like that. We’ve been doing that already this year, and getting to know each other a little bit more.
“But like I said, it will happen organically,” he said. “You can’t try to make it happen.”
Deesha Thosar covers Major League Baseball as a reporter and columnist for FOX Sports. She previously covered the Mets as a beat reporter for the New York Daily News. The daughter of Indian immigrants, Deesha grew up on Long Island and now lives in Queens. Follow her on Twitter at @DeeshaThosar.
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