On February 16, two months after signing a record $765 million contract with the New York Mets, Juan Soto arrived at the club’s spring training site in Port St. Lucie, Fla., and the euphoric excitement of the Queens fanbase, which had reached a fever pitch when news of his signing broke, erupted once more as fans realized that, yes, this was actually happening.
But with his arrival at camp, it was time for Soto and the Mets to get to work. One of the first orders of business. Soto’s position in the Mets’ hitting order.
Mets manager Carlos Mendoza plans to place Soto in the two-hole behind All-Star shortstop Francisco Lindor, who will bat first.
Soto had spent the majority of his career batting second and third, primarily the latter, before joining the New York Yankees last season. But with the Yankees, Soto made the majority of his starts in the two-hole ahead of American League MVP Aaron Judge, hitting a career-high 41 home runs and finishing second only to Judge in OBP in all of baseball.
Soto’s ability to get on base—he’s the current career leader in OBP at.420—as well as his ability to bat for both average and power make him a perfect match at the top of the order, especially behind the power-speed threat Lindor.
Nobody knows how the remainder of the Mets’ lineup will shake out. But there aren’t many wrong answers for Mendoza, who can still put two-time Home Run Derby champion Pete Alonso, ’24 postseason breakout star Mark Vientos, power-hitting catcher Francisco Alvarez, and veteran outfielder Brandon Nimmo behind Lindor and Soto.
New York starts Grapefruit League play on Saturday and the regular season on March 27 against the Houston Astros.
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