Not so easy, is it?

New York Mets v Minnesota Twins New York Mets v Minnesota Twins | David Berding/GettyImages

In much the same way that it only took New York Yankees fans about one millisecond to find Juan Soto’s shuffle self-aggrandizing and unnecessary after his departure, Soto appears to have learned a harsh lesson (which we were all screaming at him from afar) rather quickly in Flushing.

 

Juan Soto chased the money this offseason. He chased his family’s preferences. He partnered up with Steve Cohen and fulfilled the Mets owner’s hopes that he might create a megalith roster that aligned with his desire to build a casino and a soccer arena in the neighborhood. A championship would be nice, too. In the process, he made things harder for himself.

He inserted the Los Angeles Dodgers – otherwise known as the idealized version of what the Mets intend to create, but several years ahead of their current pace – directly into his championship path, rather than as the Final Boss. And he removed the security, both in the long- and short-term, of the greatest right-handed hitter in baseball history batting behind him for the duration of his contract (or the rest of Aaron Judge’s effectiveness, whichever waned first).

And now, just two weeks into the regular season, Soto has realized that playing on Hard Mode isn’t quite as much fun (until you overcome the challenge, at least). He told the New York Post this week that it’s tougher to drive in runs without the “best hitter in baseball” batting behind him. “I was getting attacked more and more pitches in the strike zone,” Soto mused. “I was pitched different last year.”

You sure were, man. And it’s never coming back.

New York Mets star Juan Soto has discovered baseball is harder without Aaron Judge’s protection on the Yankees. Oh, really?

Soto remains an exceptional, generational talent (offensively). But even for generational talents, it’s tougher without security, and any degree of protection is an automatic downgrade from what he experienced last year, Season 1-of-1 as a new-era Bash Brother. Again, we told him. Again, you get what you’re paid for.

Pete Alonso is starting 2025 like a house afire. Mark Vientos, who Met fans swore was something akin to Judge Lite in the wake of the Soto deal, is not. Alonso, who would love to stay a Met long-term, will almost surely opt out after this season, seeking a bigger-money deal with more security (especially after Cohen doled one out to a crosstown rival). Cohen claims that his spending levels are starting to become untenable; convenient timing for Soto.

Oh, well. Too bad there was no team with stability, annual contention (no below-.500 seasons since 1992), and the best protection in baseball chasing after his services, too.