Mets icon's mentorship of Juan Soto hailed by skipper Carlos Mendoza

Juan Soto has had a mixed start to his New York Mets stint after signing an MLB-record contract in the offseason. Expectations were high from the Dominican slugger after a $765 million deal in the offseason, and while Soto has had impactful at-bats, he's not reached the level he showed last year with the New York Yankees.

Soto has copped criticism for his performances, especially against the Yankees last week. However, manager Carlos Mendoza expects him to bounce back and quickly find his best form. Mendoza pointed out that receiving advice from former All-Star slugger Carlos Beltran, who retired nearly a decade ago, would benefit Soto.

"They're having those those conversations," Mendoza said. "Beltran went through it; not too many people have been in those shoes, big contract, playing for the first time with a new team, so yeah, I'm pretty sure that they talk about it. He will continue to have those conversations with him.

"This [Beltran] is a Hall of Fame player, he'll get there. Just to have him around and share the knowledge and experiences, it's a different perspective."

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Carlos Beltran spent seven successful years with the Mets after snubbing the Yankees and signing a $119 million contract, the largest in franchise history at the time.

Carlos Beltran reflects on Juan Soto's rough welcome by Yankees fans

Juan Soto had a career year with the Yankees in 2024, and fans expected the star outfielder to return to the Bronx in the offseason. However, Soto snubbed a $760 million deal in the offseason.

He faced the wrath of Yankees fans after he returned to Yankee Stadium last week. He was welcomed by boos from infuriated Yankees fans in the Subway Series opener on Friday.

Beltran, who experienced something similar when he returned to Houston Astros as a Met, gave his take on how Soto handled the boos.

"When I went back to Houston that first time, I never heard a player being booed the way I was booed," Beltran said. "But you have to go with the ride and try not to let that affect your performance or preparation. Sometimes you can get caught up in trying to do too much. I think Soto did a great job."

Juan Soto is batting .247 this season with eight home runs and 20 RBIs. However, he went hitless in Wednesday's series finale against the Boston Red Sox.

About the author

Chaitanya Prakash is an editor who covers US Sports at Sportskeeda. His first brush with sportswriting was in 2012 when the greatest football manager of all time, Sir Alex Ferguson, bid farewell to the beautiful game.

Although having started out professionally as a cricket writer in 2022, Chaitanya's curiosity and indiscriminate interest in all sports in general eventually introduced him to America's favorite pastime.

While Chaitanya's favorite player from the current crop is the dynamic Venezuelan Ronald Acuna Jr., his all-time favorite, however, is Pedro Martinez, for his self-belief and consistency. He also rates Jose Bautista's iconic bat flip in 2015 as his favorite moment in baseball history.

Chaitanya specializes in reporting on technical aspects of the game or analyzing patterns behind specific plays. He also likes pondering over players' self-assessments following the conclusion of a game as it helps him get an idea of how they think about the sport in general.

When not cheering for his favorites across sports, Chaitanya likes being transported to the past through a good war documentary or a historical documentary in general.

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Edited by Chaitanya Prakash