Alexander Wilson
The NY Mets have Juan Soto doing superstar things, and somehow the offense around him keeps making the whole operation feel smaller. Pulling that off is almost impressive in the worst possible way, but this is where the season has landed.
The Mets lost 4-1 to Miami on Saturday, falling to 22-30, and Max Meyer made them look completely overwhelmed. He threw seven shutout innings of one-hit ball, while the Mets spent another afternoon waiting for someone to give Soto real help.
The bad-week excuse is gone. The Mets have lost eight of their past 10 against Miami dating back to last season, and getting smothered by the Marlins again only makes the lineup issue feel more ridiculous.
Soto is doing his part
Soto still looks like a star, with a 163 wRC+ in the current game-log view that lines up with the eye test. The at-bats are controlled, the power is real, and the plate discipline still feels like it belongs in a different sport.
The problem is everything around him. A superstar bat should lengthen an offense, not make the rest of the order look even smaller by comparison. The Mets keep finding ways to turn Soto’s production into background noise because the innings around him die too quietly.
Saturday was a perfect example. Meyer was excellent, full stop, but the Mets also made his life too easy. One hit through seven innings goes beyond getting beat by a good arm. It is an offense failing to apply any real heat.
The Mets need more than Soto gravity
The frustrating part is that Soto is supposed to change how opponents pitch to everybody else. He should create better pockets for the hitters around him, force relievers into uncomfortable lanes, and make every mistake feel expensive.
Instead, the Mets keep looking like a lineup where Soto is the main attraction and the rest of the show forgot to plug in the amps. A.J. Ewing has given them some useful energy, and that development matters, but the larger offense still feels too lifeless too often.
At some point, wasting Soto becomes more than a frustrating headline. It becomes an indictment of the roster construction. The Mets paid for a superstar, got superstar production, and still keep playing games where one elite bat feels stranded on an island.
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