Eric Chavez takes a swipe at Juan Soto and the Mets’ front office

It's crazy how there's always something to say about the New York Mets!

On Sunday, my colleague Sébastien wrote an article about David Stearns' four fatal mistakes. 

Today, the Mets are in the news again—once more for all the wrong reasons.

Eric Chavez, who was the team's hitting coach as recently as last year, revealed in an interview that Juan Soto lacked leadership. In doing so, he also took a swipe at the team's front office, stating that it was primarily their fault.

Not being with his teammates

That's the situation. Chavez mentioned that superstar Juan Soto preferred to retreat to the locker room between innings rather than be in the dugout with his teammates. When the Mets were at bat and Soto wasn't likely to be up to bat that inning, he would go to the locker room and sit on a sofa. Worse yet, he would chat with an assistant general manager.

Chavez once brought this up with Stearns, pointing out (rightly so) that it didn't send a good message to the other players on the team, let alone the young players and rookies. Instead of addressing the issue, Stearns reportedly simply replied that the other players needed to understand that not everyone is Juan Soto!

Everything about this story is wrong. It's wrong for a player to choose to distance himself from his teammates just to sit comfortably on a sofa. Doesn't he want to discuss strategy with his teammates or offer advice? After all, we're talking about one of the best baseball players in the world—an athlete who will be inducted into the Hall of Fame at the end of his career. 

Furthermore, how can team management tolerate a player who isn't on the same level as the others? On top of that, they're giving him blatant preferential treatment. A team must be united if it's going to go into battle together. Sure, the former Nationals, Padres, and Yankees player may have all the talent in the world, but he needs his teammates to get him to home plate and put runs on the scoreboard.

A Word About Lindor

It's no secret anymore. The Mets' two star players, Juan Soto and Francisco Lindor, don't have a good relationship. That's putting it mildly. In light of Chavez's testimony, it's easier to understand Lindor's position. Sometimes, the damage is too extensive to be repaired…

At least, despite the shockwaves, it won't be Soto or Stearns who'll be in the spotlight in the coming days. It'll be Bo Bichette. The former Blue Jays star will make his return to Toronto for a three-game series. Sometimes, timing works out just right. 

• Roman Anthony is sick of being injured.

• Alex Bregman explains why he didn't run hard on Sunday: he's trying to avoid injury.

• Max Fried is making progress. He'll throw a two-inning simulated game tomorrow.

• Yimi Garcia and Max Scherzer are feeling better. They're able to throw to each other.

Created by humans, assisted by AI.