Juan Soto is facing some challenges early on in the season. It was not too long ago that the 26-year-old slugger made his way into the spring training, settling down with his new team, the Mets. Until a fielding error put him on the spot. Now, fans are scrutinizing his mistake, second-guessing if Soto’s record breaking contract with the Mets is worth it. Woah, that’s harsh. But are they guessing it right? 

The Dominican athlete was signed with the New York Mets for a fifteen-year, $765 million contract, surpassing Shohei Ohtani’s $700 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers. However, fans think Soto has failed to live up to the hype, let’s have a look at what actually happened.

The New York Mets were playing against the Houston Astros in a spring training game. That’s when in the fifth inning, Quincy Hamilton smashed the ball to the right field. Juan Soto missed the catch and letting Astros take the lead. Soto’s miss in at the worst time, however it wasn’t his first time. Similar errors occurred in his time with New York Yankees. Some have started judging his fielding incapability, with one of them sharing, “OMG Juan Soto with the catch of the year.“

However, Juan Soto’s 2024 performance on the field was impressive. He hit 41 homers and had 129 walks, which was the fourth-highest in MLB. He had a batting average of.288 along with 109 RBIs. Along with 128 runs scored in his 157 games and also won his fifth Silver Slugger award. But despite a strong offense, Juan Soto seems to struggle as an outfielder. It’s understandable why some fans may think this makes him unworthy of the record-breaking deal. What do you think?

Fans share their reactions on Soto’s fielding mistake

Now that Juan Soto is with the New York Mets, a lot of Yankees’ fans cannot help but criticize his latest mistake, it’s one they are familiar with. “750 million, btw, lol,” one fan wrote on his X handle, referring to the $765 million deal that Soto signed. The Mets think Soto’s worthy, but with the outfield errors, the fan think the Mets are at a loss. 

Another fan chimed in, stating, “He was clearly taking notes from the 2024 AL MVP.” Soto is being compared with Aaron Judge here. A  video posted on X features Aaron Judge’s missed catch. It’s clear the fan believes the two players share a similar path. 

“He doesn’t get paid to catch the ball,” an user on X said, suggesting that Soto attention may still be on the contract than on his defensive skills. Advanced statistics sh0w that Soto’s arm is average, and his sprint speed, 26.3 ft/s is below the league average for outfielders. Furthermore, his reaction times and his routes to taking balls suggest he might not be the best outfielder.

Another commenter said, “He’s not worth what they are paying him,” expressing that Soto’s number on the contract may not really reflect his value. Mets and Yankees fans understandably feel upset by this. Going by numbers, they expect more from the elite player in the league.

However, one user shared an unique response, calling out the Yankees’ fans for judging Juan Soto too quickly, “Yanks trolling a spring training game because they are still hurt that Soto chose the Mets over them #littlebrobehavior.” It seems this user has serious opinions about the Yankees not being able to sign Soto. The question, however, still remains: Did Soto sign with the Mets for the promise of growth, and to adjust with the shift I dynamics—which was absent with the Yankees, maybe?

But it’s too early to decide anything. Juan Soto has been an exceptional batter and has great leadership skills can prove him worthy of his deal. 

Do you think the fans are being a little too harsh on Juan Soto due to his silly mistake? Do let us know in the comment section below.