14-Time All-Star Alex Rodriguez Sheds Light on Padres Outfielders Performance Drought and Suggests Ways to Tackle It: “If I Was Juan Soto…”

Juan Soto has witnessed an average 2022 season, where he’s batted at a career low of 0.236 and hit only six home runs out of his 182 at-bats. Amidst this, former Yankee legend Alex Rodriguez reaches out to him and sheds light on his recent slump in form with some advice for the future.

Alex Rodriguez draws a comparison between Juan Soto from the 2019 World Series Championship victory and his struggle in 2022. He starts off by displaying a few home runs hit by Soto in 2019, that flew past the entire outfield. And collates it to his passive, unsure and insecure form in the recent past.

What suggestions does A-Rod have for Juan Soto?

A-Rod shows a few clips from the previous Padres game against the Dodgers and talks about his multiple strikeouts in the game. He says, “This is the one that hurts. Three on one, middle, middle. And then a very weak swing here, off balance. Again in the ninth, changeup, swings over the changeup, and then a very insecure, not sure of what he’s doing Juan Soto.”

Alex Rodriguez, who appeared on 14 All-Star teams, and won three American League MVP awards, gave a few suggestions to the Padres outfielder. He said, “If I was Juan Soto, I would keep it very simple. I would clear the deck, and I would think about being very aggressive. Do not let these guys get on top of you, and boom! I would be thinking about getting the head out, being on top, and staying balanced.”

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A-Rod believes that the outfielder should be more confident, and try to attack the pitcher. He says, “Instead of being behind in the mound and hitting the ball way back here, which the pitchers are beating you, they’re taking the shot at you. You need to deliver the blow, relax, big boy, get a good pitch to hit, and put it in the seats.”

San Diego Padres’ performance in 2022

The first setback San Diego Padres faced this year was the injury of their upcoming superstar, Fernando Tatis Jr. As soon as talks about Tatis Jr.’s return reached the media, the outfielder and shortstop tested positive for a banned MLB substance. Consequently, the MLB issued an 80-game suspension for the youngster.

Despite that major setback, the Padres have maintained consistent performances all through the league. And ultimately, they qualified after being positioned at number two in the Wild-Card round. Following that, they beat the Mets, who dominate the National League all through 2022 in the Wild Card round.

Today, after leading the Division Series against the MLB leaders, Los Angeles Dodgers, the Padres have proved to be the underdogs of 2022.

San Diego Padres have never won a World Series Ring. Moreover, they also missed out on the Division Series in 2020.

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Can 2022 be their year? Can they use their already-developed advantage and somehow manage to tackle past the Dodgers and reach the Championship series? What do you think?