The New York Mets started the 2026 season with a brutal 12-game losing streak. Early in the season, they had the worst hitting numbers in baseball and had scored just 206 runs. Yet, right in the middle of this mess, Juan Soto is batting .301 with 12 home runs.

Problem with big contracts? They come with massive pressure to perform and win. When Soto signed a $765 million deal with the New York Mets, the fans thought that Queens was finally getting to the World Series, but things have been the exact opposite. And with the team spiralling in 2026, the fans are starting to question if Juan Soto is playing for the team or for himself.

“I’m not saying he doesn’t want to win. I just think that he cares much more about his individual statistics and how he looks at the end of the day as opposed to the Mets winning games,” said WFAN host Gregg Giannotti, talking about Juan Soto.

But blaming Soto makes no sense. When a team loses, fans and reporters automatically blame the guy making the most money. People expect a massive contract to magically fix everything. When it doesn’t, the superstar becomes an easy target for everyone’s anger.

We have seen this happen in New York before. The Mets paid Bobby Bonilla a fortune in 1992, and fans booed him nonstop when the team played poorly. Years later, Yoenis Céspedes got the same unfair blame even when he was hitting well. Now, Soto is dealing with the same treatment.

The plan was simple: put Juan Soto in a lineup with Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonso to build a powerhouse. Instead, they let Alonso leave in free agency, started the season with a brutal 12-game losing streak, and the offense completely died.

With the Mets still not completely out of the mud, some people are starting to notice that they look more disjointed than ever.

When the Mets signed Juan Soto, he was expected to hit over 20 homers and have more than 100 RBIs every season, and he has been on track for that since coming to Queens. Soto currently has a .301 average with a .392 OBP in 2026. Over the last 10 games, the Mets have scored 38 runs, and Soto has produced 10 of them. Even with Soto missing time due to injury, he is still the home run leader (12) for the Mets and has 27 RBIs in 39 games.

He even hit a huge home run against the Reds recently to stop a series sweep. And that shuts down the argument of Soto playing for himself and not the team.

Manager Carlos Mendoza called Soto “special,” while rookie Carson Benge praised Soto’s daily preparation. Let’s be clear, the Mets are not doing well as a team, but to say that Soto is now not playing for the team might not have any basis.

The real problem is that the rest of the offense has simply vanished. Against the Marlins, they managed to score only 2 runs across the series despite having a higher payroll. Bo Bichette has continued to struggle offensively. He has an average of .225 with just five homers in the season. And with him being paid around $42 million annually, the expectations were a lot higher.

Marcus Semien’s declining bat speed and injury have created even more concerns in the team. And outside of occasional flashes from younger players, the Mets’ lineup has failed to produce runs and win games consistently. Meanwhile, Soto has quietly done almost everything New York expected from him offensively.

The Mets might have to change their lineup order

Just days ago, the New York Mets looked like a team finally climbing out from another frustrating early-season slump. New York won 6 of 7 games, scoring 53 runs, and showed that even in late games, the offense can be effective. Against Detroit alone, the Mets came from behind to win every game of the series, giving fans hope that the Mets were starting to find their feet.

But after splitting against the Nationals, that growing confidence has disappeared completely, especially with an ugly weekend in Miami.

The Marlins had some of the worst pitching in baseball, but they completely shut down the Mets. New York managed just two runs and 11 hits over the entire three-game series. They also struck out 29 times, proving this is a much deeper problem than just a quick slump.

And with the offense falling flat again, we might start to see changes in the lineup, especially around Bo Bichette and MJ Melendez. Bichette has struggled too much to keep batting second in the order. MJ Melendez has provided almost no help at all.

Francisco Lindor’s injury has also caused a lot of damage to the offensive ability of the lineup because, aside from Soto, the team has nothing to show.

The Mets might now be ready for a lineup change centered around Carson Benge and A.J. Ewing. Ewing has a .396 OBP in 40 at-bats, showing maturity beyond his experience. Before Miami’s series, Benge hit .351 while scoring 16 runs and driving 11. And pushing those rookies up the order might help Juan Soto to carry a little less weight and bat more freely. But the questions still remain because Brett Baty, Mark Vientos, Marcus Semien, and Luis Torrens continue producing low numbers.

Baty currently holds 21 RBIs despite carrying an average of .236. Vientos has 6 home runs with 23 RBIs, but other than that, his impact has been negligible on the team. And with the return of Lindor and Francisco Alvarez close, the Mets lineup could be:

1. Carson Benge RF
2. Francisco Lindor SS
3. Juan Soto DH
4. Bo Bichette 3B
5. A.J. Ewing LF
6. Mark Vientos/Brett Baty 1B
7. Luis Robert CF
8. Francisco Alvarez C
9. Marcus Semien/Jorge Polanco 2B

Blaming Soto seems ridiculous. He is doing exactly what the Mets paid him $765 million to do. The front office, in many ways, is to be blamed for not building a roster around their star man. Until the rest of the lineup wakes up, Soto is stuck being the only bright spot in a miserable year for Queens.