| Juan Soto | |
|---|---|
_-_00010_(cropped).jpg) Soto with the Mets in 2025 | |
| New York Mets – No. 22 | |
| Outfielder | |
| Born: (1998-10-25)October 25, 1998 (age 26) Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic | |
Bats: Left Throws: Left | |
| MLB debut | |
| May 20, 2018, for the Washington Nationals | |
| MLB statistics (through April 8, 2025) | |
| Batting average | .285 |
| Hits | 946 |
| Home runs | 202 |
| Runs batted in | 596 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Juan José Soto Pacheco (born October 25, 1998) is a Dominican professionalbaseballoutfielder for theNew York Mets ofMajor League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for theWashington Nationals,San Diego Padres, andNew York Yankees. Soto is a five-timeSilver Slugger Award winner and four-timeAll-Star.
Soto signed with the Nationals as an internationalfree agent in 2015. He made his MLB debut in 2018 and was the runner-up for theNL Rookie of the Year Award. In2019, he played a key part in the Nationals' firstWorld Series championship, earning him theBabe Ruth Award. In 2020, he won theNational League batting title with a .351 average. After beingtraded to the Padres at the 2022 trade deadline, Soto was dealt to the Yankees following the 2023 season. In his lone season with the team, he reached the2024 World Series and finished third in AL MVP voting. After becoming a free agent for the first time in his career, Soto signed a 15-year, $765 million contract with the Mets in the offseason, thelargest contract in professional sports history.
Soto is renowned for his exceptional plate discipline and known for his unique batter's box movements, dubbed the "Soto Shuffle."
Soto was born on October 25, 1998 to Juan Soto Sr. and Belkis Pacheco. He has an older sister and a younger brother, Elian, who signed with the Nationals as an international free agent once he became eligible in January 2023.[1][2] His father was a salesman and a catcher in a local men's league and encouraged his sons to make baseball their passion.[1]
Soto signed with theWashington Nationals as an international free agent for a $1.5 millionsigning bonus in July 2015.[3] He made his professional debut in 2016 with theGulf Coast League Nationals in the rookie-levelGulf Coast League (GCL) and was named the GCL'smost valuable player after hitting .368 with fivehome runs and 32runs batted in (RBIs).[4][5][6] In September 2016 he was promoted to theAuburn Doubledays of theClass A-Short SeasonNew York-Penn League near the end of the 2016 season.[7] Appearing in six games for the Doubledays, he went 9-for-21 (.429) with three doubles and an RBI.[6] He finished the 2016 season with an overallbatting average of .368, five home runs, and 32 RBIs.[6]
Promoted to play with theHagerstown Suns of theClass ASouth Atlantic League in 2017, Soto got off to a hot start before injuring his ankle while sliding into home in a game on May 2 and landing on thedisabled list. At the time of his injury, he was batting .360 with three home runs in 23 games with the Suns.[8] In July 2017,MLB Pipeline ranked Soto the Nationals' second-best prospect[9] and the 42nd-best among all prospects.[10] Soto did not return to the Suns in 2017, but he had two rehabilitation stints with the GCL Nationals, one of five games in July 2017 and a second one of four games in September 2017 before injuring his hamstring and finally being shut down for the season.[6][11] In those nine games in the GCL, he went 8-for-25 (.320) with a double, a triple, and four RBIs.[6] He finished the 2017 season with a batting average of .351, three home runs, and 18 RBIs.[6]
Soto entered 2018 as one of the minor leagues' top prospects.[12][13] He started the season with Hagerstown, hitting .373 in 16 games with five home runs and 24 RBIs,[6] before being promoted in late April to thePotomac Nationals in theClass A-AdvancedCarolina League.[14][15] After 15 games with Potomac, in which he hit .371 with seven home runs and 18 RBIs,[6] he was promoted in mid-May to theHarrisburg Senators in theDouble-AEastern League.[16] He had appeared in eight games for the Senators, going 10-for-31 (.323) with two doubles, two home runs, and 10 RBIs.[6] On May 20, the Nationals called him up to the major leagues for the first time to reinforce their outfield after an injury to second baseman and outfielderHowie Kendrick.[17]
Soto made his major-league debut on May 20, 2018, becoming the youngest player in the major leagues at 19 years, 207 days[18] and the first player born in 1998 to appear in a major-league game.[18] He came on as a pinch-hitter in the 8th inning of a game against theLos Angeles Dodgers atNationals Park and struck out swinging against right-handed relieverErik Goeddel.[19]
Soto made his first major-league start the next day, playing left field in a game against theSan Diego Padres atNationals Park, and on the first pitch of his firstplate appearance of the game, got his first major-league hit, a 422 ft (129 m) opposite-field three-run homer offRobbie Erlin.[18][20] After rounding the bases and returning to the dugout, Soto stepped back out for a curtain call from the crowd.[20] He became the youngest player in franchise history to hit a home run[20] and the first teenager to homer in a major-league game since teammateBryce Harper did it at age 19 in 2012.[18] "He's a special player," Harper said of Soto after the game.[20] Soto became the youngest major league player sinceKen Griffey Jr. in 1989 to be intentionally walked in a game whenBaltimore Orioles managerBuck Showalter elected to do so rather than give him an opportunity to drive in a run on May 29.[21]
_(cropped).jpg)
In June, shortly after Soto was called up to the major leagues,Baseball America listed him as the Nationals' top prospect, overtaking fellow outfielderVíctor Robles, and the fourth-best overall prospect in baseball.[22] Soto contributed to a notable oddity when he hit a home run against theNew York Yankees on June 18. The contest began on May 15, five days before Soto made his major league debut, but was suspended until June 18 due to inclement weather with the score at 3–3. Since the stoppage occurred at the end of the fifth inning, a team would have been awarded the win if they were ahead, which implied that he had technically hit a home run before his MLB debut. To prevent confusion, it was added in sequence to his already accrued home run total as his sixth home run. It was also one of three home runs Soto hit in his first five plate appearances against the Yankees.[23]
On June 21, he started as the cleanup hitter for the first time in the major leagues, against theBaltimore Orioles. He doubled home the winning run in a 4–2 victory.[24] Soto's first multi-home run game came on June 13 against the Yankees, and he repeated the feat on June 29, atCitizens Bank Park against thePhiladelphia Phillies, tallying two home runs, four hits, and five RBIs as the Nationals defeated the Phillies 17–7.[25] Soto had another multi-home run game against the Phillies on September 11, going 3-for-4 with four RBIs in the second game of a doubleheader.[26] On September 16, Soto became the youngest player to steal 3 bases in a game, breakingRickey Henderson's mark of 20 years, 241 days by accomplishing the feat at 19 years, 326 days.[27]
In 2018, Sotoslashed .292/.406/.517 with 79 walks, 22 home runs, and 70 RBIs in 494 plate appearances and was the youngest player in the NL.[28] He was namedNL Rookie of the Month in June, July, and September, becoming the sixth player to win the award 3 or more times. Soto set many MLB teenage records during the season, including the most walks by a teenager (79), most multi-homer games by a teenager (3), highestOBP by a teenager (.406), and highestOPS by a teenager (.923).[29] His 22 homers tied him with then-teammateBryce Harper for 2nd most home runs by a teenager and he became the only teenager to walk more than 60 times in a season and post an OBP over .400.[29] He finished second in voting forNL Rookie of the Year toAtlanta Braves outfielderRonald Acuña Jr., becoming the only 3-time Rookie of the Month winner to not win the Rookie of the Year award.[30]
After the season, Soto was selected to the MLB All-Star Team for the2018 MLB Japan All-Star Series.[31]
On August 19, 2019, Soto became only the fourth player in MLB history to record 100 extra-base hits before his 21st birthday, joiningMel Ott,Tony Conigliaro, and his former teammate,Bryce Harper.[32] He later became the seventh MLB player in history to reach 30 home runs before their 21st birthday.[33] In 2019, he batted .282/.401/.548 with 110 runs (7th), 108 walks (3rd), 34 home runs, and 110 RBIs (9th) and he stole 12 bases in 13 attempts.[28]
With the Nationals trailing theMilwaukee Brewers 3–1 in the bottom of the eighth during theNL Wild Card Game, Soto hit a bases-clearing single off Brewers closerJosh Hader to give the Nationals a 4–3 lead.[34] They would later hang on to the lead and advance to theNational League Division Series.[35]
In Game 3 of theNLDS against theLos Angeles Dodgers, Soto hit his first career postseason home run offHyun-jin Ryu.[36] In the decisive Game 5 of the NLDS, Soto hit an RBI single in the 6th inning offWalker Buehler and later hit a game-tying home run in the top of the 8th offClayton Kershaw. The Nationals would go on to win in 10 innings and eliminate the Dodgers, advancing to theNational League Championship Series for the first time in franchise history.[37] Soto went 3–16 (.188) with a double and an RBI in theNLCS against theSt. Louis Cardinals and the Nationals advanced to theWorld Series after sweeping the best-of-seven series.[38]
In Game 1 of theWorld Series, Soto hit a home run off Astros' aceGerrit Cole to start the fourth inning and became the fourth youngest player in MLB history to ever hit a home run in a World Series.[39] Game 3 of the World Series fell on October 25, Soto's 21st birthday, fulfilling an approximately 10-year-old prediction made by his father who had said that Soto would play in the World Series on his birthday.[40] In Game 5 of the series, Soto hit another home run off Cole, providing the lone Nationals' run in a 7–1 loss which put the Nationals down 3 games to 2 in the best-of-seven series.[41] In Game 6, Soto hit his third home run of the series offJustin Verlander, a go-ahead solo run home run, to help force a decisive Game 7.[42]
The Nationals would go on to win the World Series, their first in franchise history.[43] Soto batted .333/.438/.741 with 3 HR and 7 RBIs in the World Series and led the Nationals in home runs, hits, walks, and runs scored.[44] In the postseason overall, he batted .277/.373/.554 with 5 home runs and 14 RBIs and was named the co-winner (withStephen Strasburg) of the 2019Babe Ruth Award.[45] He was also named to theAll-MLB Second Team in the first edition of the annual award.[46]
On July 23, 2020, just before the opening game of a shortened2020 season, it was announced that Soto had tested positive forCOVID-19.[47] Soto returned to action on August 4 after multiple negative tests;[48] he toldThe Washington Post that he had been following team rules forsocial distancing before the positive test, never experienced COVID-19 symptoms, received negative results on three rapid-result tests the day he learned of the positive test result through the official MLB testing program, and believed the result that caused him to miss time was a false positive.[49]
In a series atCiti Field against the division-rivalNew York Mets, Soto first hit a home run 463 feet (141 m) on August 10, the longest of his career, then another home run measured at 466 feet (142 m) on August 12 to set a new personal best.[50] He was namedNational League Player of the Week on August 17, his first such honor.[51]
Despite losing the first week of play to the positive COVID-19 test and missing some time in September with an elbow injury, Soto qualified for the batting title and became the youngest player in National League history to win, hitting .351 during the regular season.[52] Soto also led all qualified hitters in MLB inon-base percentage (.490),slugging percentage (.695), andon-base plus slugging (1.185), posting the highest marks in those three categories for any major league hitter with at least 195 plate appearances in a season sinceBarry Bonds in the2004 season.[53] Soto won his first careerSilver Slugger Award and was also named to theAll-MLB First Team for the first time in his career.[54][46] In spite of Soto's exceptional play, the Nationals were unable to capitalize, missing the playoffs even with anexpanded format.[55]
In the Nationals' first game of the season on April 6, 2021, Soto hit a walk-off single offWill Smith of theAtlanta Braves for his first career walk-off hit.[56] On April 20, Soto was put on the 10-dayinjured list for a left shoulder strain and was reinstated to the active roster on May 4.[57] On July 4, Soto was named a reserve to the National League All-Star Team for the2021 All-Star Game, receiving his first All-Star selection.[58][59] Soto also participated in theHome Run Derby for the first time, where he upset top-seededLos Angeles Angels pitcher/designated hitterShohei Ohtani in double-overtime before losing in the semifinal to eventual repeat winnerPete Alonso of theNew York Mets.[60]
In 2021, Soto batted .313/.465/.534 with 29 home runs, 95 RBIs, and 111 runs scored.[61] He reinforced his reputation as the most disciplined hitter in baseball[62] by swinging at an MLB-low 15.1% of pitches outside the strike zone, leading the next closest player, Dodgers infielderMax Muncy, by 4.0 percentage points.[63] Soto joinedTed Williams as the only players in MLB history to have led the major leagues in on-base percentage multiple times by age 22.[64] His total of 145 walks was the highest in a single season sinceBarry Bonds set the major league record with 232 in 2004.[65] Soto's former teammateBryce Harper of thePhiladelphia Phillies ranked second in the league with 100 walks,[66] making Soto only the 6th player in thelive-ball era to have led his league in walks by a margin of 40 or more.[67] He led the major leagues in walk percentage, at 22.2%, and intentional walks, with 23.[68][69] He had the best walk/strikeout ratio in the majors, at 1.56.[70] He swung at the lowest percentage of pitches of all major leaguers, at 35.0%.[71]
Following the season, Soto was named to theAll-MLB First Team and won the National LeagueSilver Slugger Award for the outfield, receiving both honors for the second straight season.[72] Soto was the runner-up inNational League Most Valuable Player Award (NL MVP) voting, losing out to Harper.[73] Soto became the sixth player in MLB history to finish as runner-up in both MVP and Rookie of the Year voting.[74]
Prior to the2021–22 MLB lockout, the Nationals offered Soto a 13-year, $350 million contract extension which would've signed the then 23-year-old Soto through his age 35 season in 2034. However, Soto declined the offer and said that he and his agent,Scott Boras, wanted to wait until he became a free agent after the 2024 season to sign a contract. "I still think of Washington as the place where I would like to spend the rest of my career", said Soto.[75]
.jpg)
On March 22, 2022, Soto agreed to a $17.1 million contract with the Nationals, avoiding arbitration.[76] On April 12, Soto hit his 100th career home run off ofAtlanta Braves pitcherBryce Elder. At the age of 23 years, 169 days, Soto became the youngest player to reach that milestone in Nationals history and the eighth-youngest player to reach the milestone in MLB history.[77]
Soto reportedly rejected a 15-year, $440 million contract extension offer by the Nationals during the 2022 season.[78]
Soto was named to the2022 MLB All-Star Game and also participated in the2022 MLB Home Run Derby, which he won.[79] He became the second youngestHome Run Derby winner behindJuan González who won in1993; Soto was one day older.[80]
On August 2, 2022, the Nationals traded Soto andJosh Bell to theSan Diego Padres in exchange forCJ Abrams,MacKenzie Gore,Robert Hassell,James Wood,Jarlín Susana, andLuke Voit.[81] The magnitude of thetrade drew comparisons to theHerschel Walker trade in theNFL.[82]
On August 12, just ten days after being traded to the Padres, Soto faced the Nationals in Washington, where he received a 45-second-long standing ovation from the crowd.[83] For the remainder of the 2022 season with the Padres, Soto played 51 games with the team, compiling a .236 batting average, 6 home runs, 16 RBIs, and 36 walks. He reached the2022 NLCS with the Padres, hitting two home runs in the series as they lost in five games to thePhiladelphia Phillies.[84]
Overall in 2022, combined with both teams, Soto played 152 total games with a .242 batting average, 27 home runs, 62 RBIs, and an MLB-leading 135 walks. He walked in 20.3% of his plate appearances, tops in the major leagues, and had the highest walk/strikeout rate in the majors, at 1.41.[85] He swung at a lower percentage of pitches outside the strike zone (19.9%) than any other major league batter.[86]
On January 13, 2023, Soto signed a one-year, $23 million contract with the Padres, avoiding salary arbitration.[87] Overall in 2023, Soto played in all 162 games with a .275 batting average, 35 home runs, 109 RBIs and an MLB-leading 132 walks.[88]
On December 6, 2023, the Padrestraded Soto andTrent Grisham to theNew York Yankees forMichael King,Drew Thorpe,Jhony Brito,Randy Vásquez, andKyle Higashioka.[89][90] Soto and the Yankees avoided salary arbitration prior to the start of the 2024 season, agreeing to a one-year contract worth $31 million.[91]
_(cropped).jpg)
From March 28 to March 31, Soto went 9-for-17 with a home run, a double and four RBI and also collected anoutfield assist onOpening Day by throwing out the tying run at the plate on the penultimate play of the game.[92][93] On April 1, Soto was named theAmerican League Player of the Week for the first week of the season.[94]
On June 3, following a week that included Soto slashing .435/.500/1.000, with two home runs in a game against theSan Francisco Giants, including the go-ahead runs in the top of the ninth inning, he was named the AL Player of the Week for the second time.[95][96] Soto was named as a starting outfielder for theAmerican League in the2024 MLB All-Star Game.[97][98]
On August 13, Soto hit three home runs in a 4–1 victory over theChicago White Sox, registering all four RBIs for the game. It was the first time he recorded three home runs in a single game in his career.[99] On August 14, Soto hit a solo home run to deep right in his first at-bat and became the 6th Yankee to hit a home run in 4 straight at-bats (joining the list withLou Gehrig in 1932,Johnny Blanchard in 1961,Mickey Mantle in 1962,Bobby Murcer in 1970, andReggie Jackson in 1977).[100]
On August 21, in an 8-1 victory over theCleveland Guardians, Soto hit a two-run home run to deep center in his first at-bat for his 36th of the season, giving him a new career-high in a single season. He became the first Yankee in the expansion era (since 1961), to hit a home run for 8 straight hits (dating from August 11 against theTexas Rangers) and the first player in all of baseball sinceJoey Votto in July 2021.[101] On September 17, in a 11-2 victory over theSeattle Mariners atT-Mobile Park, Soto hit a two-run homer in the 4th inning and reached the milestone of hitting a home run in all 30 current Major League stadiums. It was also his career-high 40th homer and the 200th career homer for Soto, who became the seventh-youngest player in Major League history to reach the plateau, at 25 years and 328 days old.[102]
Soto finished the 2024 season batting .288/.419/.569 with 41 home runs, 109 RBIs, and was second in MLB in walks with 129.[103]
On October 19, Soto hit a three-run homer in the top of the 10th inning in Game 5 of the2024 American League Championship Series for the Yankees to take a 5–2 lead over theCleveland Guardians. This propelled the Yankees to theWorld Series for the first time since2009.[104] They went on to lose to theLos Angeles Dodgers in five games. Soto finished the2024 postseason batting .327/.469/1.102 with 4 homers and 9 RBIs in 14 games.[105] Following the World Series, Soto became a free agent.[106]
On December 11, 2024, Soto signed a 15-year, $765 million contract with theNew York Mets, thelargest contract in professional sports history.[107][108] The contract gave him a $75 million signing bonus and contained a club option between 2030–2039 that would increase the base salary by $4 million per year, which if declined would allow him to opt out after the 2029 season.[109]
On March 28, 2025, Soto hit his first home run as a Met, a solo shot to right field off ofHouston Astros pitcherHunter Brown, giving the Mets a 3–1 victory and their first win of the season.[110] Soto'sCiti Field debut as a Met came on April 4, during the first home game of the season. He hit an RBI double in the sixth to lead the Mets to a 5–0 victory over theToronto Blue Jays.[111]
.jpg)
Soto is known for his exceptional plate discipline, ranking 5th all-time inwalk rate and 17th all-time in careeron-base percentage among hitters with at least 4,000plate appearances at the conclusion of the2024 season. During his 2018 rookie season, Soto became known for his movements in thebatter's box after he successfully takes a pitch for a ball. Dubbed the "Soto Shuffle," the routine often includes Soto swinging his hips, wiping the dirt with a wide arc of his leg, tapping his leg, hopping, or lowering himself into a squat and staring at the pitcher.[112][113][114] As anESPN writer described it: "He'll swing his hips or spread his legs or sweep his feet or shimmy his shoulders or lick his lips or squeeze his, um, junk, sometimes all at once."[113] Soto says he started the routine in the minor leagues "to get in the minds of the pitchers, because sometimes they get scared".[113][115] In Game 1 of the2019 National League Championship Series,St. Louis Cardinals pitcherMiles Mikolas responded to Soto's antics by grabbing his own crotch after retiring Soto on aground out. Soto responded later by saying, "He got me out, he can do whatever he wants."[113][114][116] In subsequent seasons, Soto eliminated crotch-grabbing from the routine.[112]
Soto employs a "two-strike approach" in which he raises his grip along the bat handle and adopts a wider, lower stance, sometimes described as a crouch, in the batter's box.[117][118] He is noted for his ability to drive the ball to all fields, even on a two-strike count. At the conclusion of the2020 season, Soto had hit 69 career home runs in MLB and divided them evenly by direction: 23 to left field, 23 to center field, and 23 to right field.[119]
Although he was a finalist for aGold Glove Award as aleft fielder after the2019 season, Soto has indicated a preference for playingright field, his main position during his brief minor league career. The Nationals began deploying him as their starting right fielder late in the 2020 season, and he became the Nationals' everyday right fielder in 2021.[120][121] Soto is below average at both corner outfield positions for his career, according toultimate zone rating andStatcast metrics.[122]
Soto played for theDominican Republic national team in the2023 World Baseball Classic. He led or tied for the team lead in hits, doubles, home runs, walks, andOPS.[123] He also had anoutfield assist againstNicaragua.[124] One of his home runs came in a knockout loss toPuerto Rico.[125]
In 2021, Soto donated $200,000 to Dominican athletes in that year'sSummer Olympics.[126]
Soto's younger brother, Elian, currently plays in theWashington Nationals organization.[127]
Soto has twice given gifts to new teammates to retain his #22 uniform number. After he was traded to the Padres in 2022, he gaveNick Martinez a "really nice watch."[128] In 2025, after signing with the Mets, he gaveBrett Baty aChevrolet Tahoe that had "thanks for #22" written on the rear windshield.[129]
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Major League Baseball annualon-base percentage leader 2020–2021 | Succeeded by |
