Juan Soto 'trying to do a little bit too much' at the plate, David Stearns says

NEW YORK — Typically, an end-of-May press conference with David Stearns would revolve around the team’s performance up to this point. The Mets president of baseball operations has said that he views Memorial Day as a mark on the baseball calendar that paints a sample size of how the team is performing. 

But the Mets, who spent 35 days in first place and have the sixth-best record in Major League Baseball, are doing alright. It’s their $765 million slugger that’s sparking interest and concern. 

Juan Soto just recorded the worst 50-game start to a season in his career. He entered Friday night hitless in his last 16 at-bats. He has a .224 batting average and .745 OPS, both of which are well below his career averages of .281 and .941, respectively. As May comes to a close, Soto has just eight home runs and has grounded into 10 double plays. For perspective, Soto had 15 home runs at this point last year, and he grounded into 10 double plays in his entire season with the Yankees.

"This hasn't been a month where he's performed up to the Juan Soto standard that everyone's become accustomed to, and that's a very, very high standard," Stearns said in a press conference on Friday at Citi Field. "But players go through ups and downs, even the best of players go through ups and downs, and it's our job to continue to help him get through that."

Most astonishingly, Soto this year is batting .130 with runners in scoring position. Putting up goose eggs in high-leverage situations is unlike him. In his career, he boasts a .286 batting average with runners in scoring position.

"Do I think he's trying to do a little bit too much right now? Yeah. I think he's probably trying to do a little bit too much right now," Stearns said. "And that is