New York Mets superstar Juan Soto has been following his team's struggles from afar, but he hasn't given any motivational clubhouse speeches.
Soto, who came off the injured list ahead of Wednesday's game against the Minnesota Twins, admitted that he didn't speak to any of his teammates while sidelined during their ongoing 12-game losing streak.
"No, not at all," Soto told reporters when asked if he'd done so during the skid, according to SNY's Alex Smith. "I mean, they've been on the road most of the time, so I haven't talked to them."
The Mets placed Soto on the IL with a right calf strain on April 6, three days after he was hurt while running the bases in San Francisco. The injury halted a hot start to the season for the four-time All-Star, who hit .355/.412/.516 over his first eight games.
New York won four games without Soto, including the night he sustained the injury, before its downward spiral began. The team entered play Wednesday sporting the worst record in baseball at 7-16 while looking to snap the franchise's longest losing streak since 2002.
Soto would have been with the Mets during the first five games of the losing streak but stayed in New York to rehab while his teammates dropped six straight on a road trip through Los Angeles and Chicago. The Mets are hoping he'll pull his team out of this funk when he hits second as the DH on Wednesday.
"It's tough to see it, and it's a little uncomfortable to see it from the outside. ... It's a tough time, but we're going to get out of it," Soto said.
No team has ever made the playoffs after compiling a 12-game losing streak during the regular season. But Soto does know a thing or two about slow starts, having been a part of the 2019 Washington Nationals, who won the World Series following a 19-31 start. The 27-year-old believes that his experience could help the Mets flip the script.
"We learned a lot of things in all aspects of the game (in 2019). I was really young. Definitely, I learned most of the things that I know right now in that team. ... There's things (I learned) that we can use here, things that I can bring to the table and see if the guys like it so we can do it," Soto said before adding that he wouldn't divulge the "secrets" he picked up in Washington.
