NEWYou can now listen to Pakinomist articles!
How bad are things going for the 2026 New York Mets?
Look no further than the first batter they faced against the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday night, when a routine base hit turned into a Little League home run. And Juan Soto, the team’s $765 million man, was at the center of the brutal accident.
The Mets entered this game 35-49, which has been one of the most shocking pre-All-Star break stories of the season given their place as the second-highest payroll in MLB this season, behind only the reigning World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON Pakinomist
Juan Soto of the New York Mets walks back to the dugout after striking out in the first inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati, Ohio, on June 16, 2026. (Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
Starting a six-game road trip Monday night in Toronto, the Mets were hoping to get things going in their favor just days after manager Carlos Mendoza was fired. But the game couldn’t have started worse for New York, and it ultimately hurt them in a 2-1 loss.
George Springer stepped into the batter’s box against Mets starter Sean Manaea when he served up a 2-2 pitch to left field – a routine single is all it should have been.
WHY ARE METS SO BAD? OFFENSIVE STRUGGLES AND AN UNCROWDED CLUBHOUSE LEAD TO WORST RECORD IN MLB
However, Soto misread the ball bouncing completely off the green and chose to have an aggressive route to the ball and potentially catch it on the short hop. Instead, the ball went right under his glove and started rolling all the way to the left field fence.
Soto jogged to the ball while the veteran Springer booked it around the basepaths. Soto’s decision not to sprint himself was because rookie center fielder AJ Ewing was already chasing. But things only got worse from there.
Toronto Blue Jays designated hitter George Springer celebrates with outfielder Nathan Lukes after scoring during the first inning against the New York Mets at the Rogers Center in Toronto, Ont., on June 29, 2026. (Mathew Tsang/Icon Sportswire)
When Ewing looked up to see where Springer was on the bases, he didn’t field the ball cleanly, but threw it back to the fence after trying to scoop it up with his glove.
As a result, Springer was waved around third base. When Soto picked up the ball and looked toward the infield, Springer was already around third base to score his Little League home run to the delight of the Rogers Center crowd.
Errors have been among the pain points for the Mets this season, having the third most in MLB, behind only the Washington Nationals and San Francisco Giants. It was just five days ago when the Mets committed six infield errors as they were swept by the Chicago Cubs in a doubleheader.
This moment was one that Soto tried to explain postgame.
“When you have an outfield that jumps a lot, you have to pay attention because you can give up extra base hits really easily,” Soto told reporters after going 1-for-3 at the plate with a walk in the loss. “So I would say you have to be aggressive – that was my mindset. Just be aggressive, get through the ball instead of playing it back and let it bounce over my head. But I actually just stopped.”
Toronto Blue Jays designated hitter George Springer scores after his triple and a Mets fielding error during the first inning of an MLB game against the New York Mets at Rogers Center in Toronto on June 29, 2026. (Mathew Tsang/Icon Sportswire)
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE Pakinomist APP
This is obviously not what owner Steve Cohen and the Mets had in mind when they started the 2026 campaign, but they find themselves in a hole that seems to be getting deeper with every game, and games like this only pile on to the disappointment that continues for the team and its fan base.
