MIAMI — Juan Soto delivered a 30-30 season and almost a 40-40 season — ending with 43 home runs, 38 steals and a .921 OPS — in a tour de pressure first 12 months with the Mets.
And yet the team he picked in free company did not make the postseason.
The 4 also-rans in the Soto sweepstakes — the Yankees, Red Sox, Blue Jays and Dodgers — all will play into October.
But Soto does not yet have public regrets concerning the $765 million deal he signed that introduced him to Queens for 15 years.
At his introductory news convention, he cited not the cash, rather the Mets’ probabilities for sustained excellence being the greatest separator.
He raved about the expertise in the Mets group, and team proprietor Steve Cohen instructed him he would like to win two to 4 World Series titles over the next decade.
Juan Soto reacts during the Mets-Marlins sport on Sept. 28, 2025. Charles Wenzelberg/New York Post
After a historic collapse in which the finest team in baseball through mid-June completed 38-55 over the last three and a half months, Soto said he still believes in the group.
“One hundred percent,” Soto said after Sunday’s season-crushing 4-0 dud to the Marlins at loanDepot Park, where he went 0-for-3 with a stroll. “One season is not going to determine what we have here. We have everything that we need to go all the way still.”
An optimist can look at a sturdy 12 months for the Mets farm system, which graduated attractive beginning pitching prospects in Nolan McLean, Brandon Sproat and Jonah Tong, alongside with a sturdy offensive nucleus that begins with Soto and Francisco Lindor and envision an quick bounce back.
Juan Soto seems to be on during the Mets-Marlins sport on Sept. 28, 2025. Getty Images
A realist can ask significant questions about the group after a historic collapse that occurred like Hemingway wrote: Gradually, then all of a sudden.
It started with the damage to Kodai Senga and continued with accidents to Griffin Canning and Tylor Megill.
Frankie Montas came back from damage ineffectively and then got harm again.
Sean Manaea returned from damage with out wanting much like his 2024 self.
“They got hurt,” Soto said of the starters, which is where he pinpointed the challenge. “They were unbelievable at the beginning of the year. They started getting hurt, and that’s when everything started going down.”
Soto’s first season with the Mets was outstanding. It also will be remembered as a huge disappointment.
“Any time you don’t make it to the playoffs or win the championship, it’s a failure,” Soto said. “That’s how we’re going to look at it, and that’s how we’re going to work through things in the offseason.”
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