Dominican outfielder Juan Soto of the New York Mets is fitting in perfectly with the new lineup after a recent adjustment that moved him from second to third in the batting order.
“I don’t care,” Soto said before Friday’s game against the Dodgers. “I think I’m used to it by now. I don’t care if I hit second or third. I feel comfortable in both positions.”
The change came after the Mets lost both games of a doubleheader, due to problems at the bottom of the batting order, which led manager Carlos Mendoza to consider a restructuring. He floated the idea to Soto, and received no opposition.
“Whenever you want,” Soto told Mendoza. “Let’s do it.”
A favorable result for the Mets
After two consecutive losses to the Boston Red Sox in their first two games of the series last Monday and Tuesday with scores of 1-3 and 0-2, the decision was made official: Soto would be third and Pete Alonso fourth in the order. The result? A 5-1 victory over Boston on Wednesday in the final game of the series.
On Friday night, the Mets fell 7-5 against the Los Angeles Dodgers in a rematch of the 2024 Championship Series, but they fought until the 13th inning.
“Making changes is different. When I came to the league, all my life, from the minor leagues to the majors, I always batted in the third or fourth spot,” explained the Caribbean slugger. “And then I spent four more years in the majors batting in the third or fourth spot.”
Soto, who had previously expressed frustration during his time with the Washington Nationals at being taken out of the third spot in the batting order, now seems to have embraced the flexibility.
According to Will Sammon and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, he believes that the position in the batting order now matters less. The Mets hope this new order will give them the consistency they so desperately need after the team’s big three of Soto, Alonso and Francisco Lindor struggled at the plate.
With Soto occupying the third spot, he seems ready to anchor the heart of the lineup.
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