Dominican baseball player Juan Soto has not shown the best mood in the Mets locker room and wanted to return to the Yankees before signing a historic 15-year, $765 million contract with the Queens nine, according to Yankees broadcaster Michael Kay on his radio show Monday.
Soto has faced intense scrutiny following his disappointing return to the Bronx over the weekend, which has included criticism over his running pace after hits and his apparent happiness in Queens, The Post reported.
On the show, “The Michael Kay Show”, the broadcaster began by saying that he had spoken to people related to the Yankees and the Mets, that he had arrived at 8 a.m. before Saturday’s game and that he “talked for hours with people”.
“With the people I spoke to on the Mets team, and they deny it publicly, because, of course, that’s what they have to do, he looks very down in the locker room,” Kay said, according to Awful Announcing.
He doesn’t have much energy. He doesn’t smile much. I’m not going to say he’s unhappy. Because how can you be unhappy with a $765 million contract? But money doesn’t guarantee that you’re comfortable somewhere.
Family influenced Soto and Mets decision
Kay claimed that Soto wanted to remain a Yankee and that it was his family who pushed him to sign with the Mets because “they felt very comfortable with Alex and Steve Cohen”.
“Why is he not happy? In a nutshell. I’ll say it now, and they’re going to deny it. Of course, you have to deny it. But I’ve talked to people I respect. He wanted to go back to the Yankees,” Kay said. “It was his preference. His family told him, ‘You’re going to the Mets.’ His family felt very comfortable with Alex and Steve Cohen, and he’s someone who listens to his family.“So I think right now he’s probably a little bit down, a little bit angry. And then to get to Yankee Stadium with three sellouts in a row, in a place that was his Field of Dreams. It became his Field of Nightmares over the weekend,” Kay added.
This was the second report that emerged Monday related to Soto’s happiness in Flushing.
Soto and his happy moment at Yankee Stadium
In a column for NJ.com, Bob Klapisch reported that the Mets hierarchy was concerned about Soto’s lack of enthusiasm for his new team.
The only time Soto seemed happy over the weekend was while interacting with Judge, manager Aaron Boone and second baseman Jazz Chisholm during batting practice.
The scrutiny on Soto will surely increase with the slugger and the Mets in the midst of a losing streak.
Soto only got one hit in four at-bats on Monday night in the Mets’ 3-1 loss to the Red Sox to leave his batting average at .246, with eight home runs, 20 RBIs, 33 runs scored and 33 strikeouts.
Read the full article here
