Busy weeks inside and outside the Mets. It seemed that the only important topic for the franchise was the offseason with the departures and arrivals of players, but now it must also deal with the tension in the locker room between Juan Soto and Francisco Lindor.For a large section of the New York fan base, Lindor should be the team’s captain next season. However, according to information from The Mets Newsletter, Soto does not agree with the fans. For him, Starling Marte is the one who should take over the captaincy because he is the real leader.
Thus, Soto’s stance reaffirms something that has been said for some time about the differences in the locker room: that the relationship with Lindor is dry and harsh. Likewise, this “fracture” between teammates is an extension of the animosity between Lindor and Jeff McNeil.
On June 20, after the game in Philadelphia, Francisco Lindor and Jeff McNeil had a heated confrontation, and the relationship between Lindor and Soto was cold
The friction between Soto and Lindor is inherited from one more. In 2021, Jeff McNeil and Francisco Lindor allegedly had a behind-closed-doors altercation. Things seemed to calm down after that, at least until this year.
It has been said that after a defensive error in the June 20 loss to the Phillies, Lindor verbally reprimanded Jeff McNeil. This caused a very tense moment between them, although it did not go any further
Lindor lives in a dead end street. On one side, McNeil. On the other, Soto. He has already had a confrontation with one and the second does not like him as a future captain. In this way, the organization has tasks to fulfill to calm the waters in the locker room, in addition to continuing with the plans for the next campaign.
The outlook is not looking good in the Mets’ locker room
According to information from this offseason, the New York franchise has just acquired the two-time Gold Glove-winning second baseman Marcus Semien from the Rangers. This would prompt Jeff McNeil to be traded to another team, even more so because he has one year remaining on his contract.
For now, the situation is tense with the Mets. It will be of little or no use to invest in good players and start the season well if halfway through the schedule the team melts down because of locker room feuds. That is why the Mets’ plan of action to put out this fire is to show McNeil the exit door.
The case of Brandon Nimmo
Like his teammate Juan Soto, Brandon Nimmo also disagreed with the possibility of Francisco Lindor wearing the captain’s armband. Adam Ottavino, a former Mets reliever, said that Nimmo was upset at the idea of Lindor taking over the captaincy
In the franchise, this symptom was detected as an imponderable and they decided to thank Nimmo after 14 years with the team. Now his fate is with the Rangers. A similar move is planned for McNeil.
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