MIAMI — Juan Soto delivered a 30-30 season and nearly a 40-40 season — finishing with 43 home runs, 38 steals and a .921 OPS — in a tour de force first year with the Mets.
And yet the team he picked in free agency did not make the postseason.
The four also-rans in the Soto sweepstakes — the Yankees, Red Sox, Blue Jays and Dodgers — all will play into October.
But Soto does not yet have public regrets concerning the $765 million deal he signed that brought him to Queens for 15 years.
At his introductory news conference, he cited not the money, rather the Mets’ chances for sustained excellence being the biggest separator.
He raved about the talent in the Mets organization, and team owner Steve Cohen told him he would like to win two to four World Series titles over the next decade.
After a historic collapse in which the best team in baseball through mid-June finished 38-55 over the final three and a half months, Soto said he still believes in the organization.
“One hundred percent,” Soto said after Sunday’s season-crushing 4-0 dud to the Marlins at loanDepot Park, where he went 0-for-3 with a walk. “One season is not going to determine what we have here. We have everything that we need to go all the way still.”
An optimist can look at a strong year for the Mets farm system, which graduated enticing starting pitching prospects in Nolan McLean, Brandon Sproat and Jonah Tong, along with a strong offensive nucleus that begins with Soto and Francisco Lindor and envision an immediate bounce back.
A realist can ask meaningful questions about the organization after a historic collapse that occurred like Hemingway wrote: Gradually, then suddenly.
It began with the injury to Kodai Senga and continued with injuries to Griffin Canning and Tylor Megill.
Frankie Montas came back from injury ineffectively and then got hurt again.
Sean Manaea returned from injury without looking much like his 2024 self.
“They got hurt,” Soto said of the starters, which is where he pinpointed the issue. “They were unbelievable at the beginning of the year. They started getting hurt, and that’s when everything started going down.”
Soto’s first season with the Mets was remarkable. It also will be remembered as a massive disappointment.
“Any time you don’t make it to the playoffs or win the championship, it’s a failure,” Soto said. “That’s how we’re going to look at it, and that’s how we’re going to work through things in the offseason.”
