Carlos Mendoza's emphatic Juan Soto answer could spell trouble as Mets contract ages

This offseason New York Mets manager Carlos Mendoza gave the most “this is going to be a thing all year” answer imaginable.

When Mets beat writer Anthony DiComo asked whether Juan Soto might see more DH days next season, Mendoza didn’t dance around it: “He doesn’t like DH’ing.” And DiComo’s follow-up read was basically, yeah, don’t expect that to change in 2026. 

Which, on one hand, is very Soto. The dude is a pride-first superstar: he wants to play, he wants to be in the action, and he’s not trying to spend his prime feeling like a $700 million pinch-hitter.

On the other hand, Mets fans have eyeballs.

Carlos Mendoza’s Juan Soto answer could foreshadow an awkward Mets future

Soto in right field has turned into its own little genre over the last couple years. Not a horror movie, exactly. More like a long-running sitcom where the punchline is always the same: the bat is a flamethrower, and the defense is ‘bring your own glove’ territory.

The numbers back it up. FanGraphs noted that in 2025 Soto graded out at -12 Outs Above Average and -13 Fielding Run Value, making him and Nick Castellanos the worst defensive right fielders in baseball by Statcast’s public metrics. The routes can get funky, the range isn’t what it used to be, and the overall feel is “if the ball is hit directly at him, we’re all good. Otherwise, everybody hold hands.”

So what does Mendoza’s answer actually mean for the Mets? Every long-term mega-contract eventually has the same late chapters. Less defense. More DH. Mendoza basically confirmed the Mets aren’t forcing that chapter open yet.

And sure, 2026 is still “prime-ish” Soto. But the warning lights aren’t about this year alone. They’re about the arc of the deal. If Soto is already resisting DH reps now, how does that conversation go when the legs slow down another tick.

This isn’t an anti-Soto post. If you’re building an offense you trust in October, you want that bat in the middle every day, period. But if the Mets are also trying to be a clean, efficient defensive team — then “Soto hates DH” is less a fun personality note and more a roster constraint that’s going to age louder than any quote.

Maybe Soto turns in a perfectly respectable season in right, and we all can happily move on. Stranger things have happened.

But if 2026 includes even a handful of those “why is he drifting like he’s chasing a butterfly?” routes… don’t be shocked when the DH question comes roaring back, whether Soto likes it or not.