Mets' surprise Juan Soto move leads to disastrous results

Whatever is going on with Juan Soto is starting to become a real concern for the New York Mets and their fans.

It was easy not to buy into the narrative that Soto looked "miserable" early on in the season. It was seemingly the work of a segment of the New York Yankees' fan base that still felt aggrieved by Soto spurning their team for the cross-town rival.

But there were certainly some uncomfortable moments during Soto's return to the Bronx this past weekend, highlighted by his failure to hustle out of the batter's box on a ground ball up the middle in a tie game in the eighth inning on Sunday night. And Wednesday was the lowest point yet.

The Mets moved Soto to the number-three spot in the order for the first time all season, in part because they were facing a tough lefty in the Boston Red Sox's Garrett Crochet. And Soto's response to the move, intentional or not, was a total head-scratcher.

Soto didn't take the bat off his shoulder in his first at-bat against Crochet, striking out looking on three pitches with a runner in scoring position. His second at-bat was deja vu: a backwards "K" on four pitches with the bases empty in the third. 

Superstar players aren't supposed to put up completely uncompetitive at-bats, even against a Cy Young contender in a tough left-on-left situation. Something very strange is going on in Soto's head at the moment, and the Mets need him to snap out of it.

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In his third at-bat, Crochet's final batter of the outing, Soto finally took the bat off his shoulder, striking out swinging. The Mets did go on to win the game 5-1, avoiding a sweep, and Soto managed a sacrifice fly and a walk against the Boston bullpen.

While Soto is still managing an OPS of .804, this season hasn't been up to his usual standard so far. And things would feel completely different even with the same statistics if he were playing with his usual enthusiasm, doing the "Soto shuffle" and getting fired up after home runs.

When you've gotten paid $765 million, the least you can do is swing the bat. The Mets need the old Soto to come back as soon as possible, or the vibes will continue to sour.

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