Juan Soto's bat has played in every corner of the MLB world, but through his first seven seasons, there's one venue that has probably honored him more than any other.
If the Mets needed an extra selling point from the All-Star outfielder in a meeting with team officials last month, it was this: Soto's 1.175 career OPS at Citi Field, where Soto appeared in at least 20 games. It's the best in the stadium.
Soto, 26, has reached the final stages of free agency and is likely to be finalized by the end of next week's Winter Meetings in Dallas.
Industry insiders say he is considering offers from the Mets, Yankees, Red Sox, Blue Jays and Dodgers (totaling more than $600 million, according to the paper's Jon Heyman), with a resolution expected by the end of the week. It is even more likely that they will.
It is unclear which teams were excluded from that group.
It's already been proven that Soto and Citi Field are a good fit, which likely alleviates concerns about how elite talent and a ballpark not known as a hitter's paradise will mesh.
Soto has played in 35 career games at Citi Field (almost half of his home seasons), hitting .333/.466/.709 with 12 home runs and 26 RBIs. Most of that damage occurred when he played for the Nationals from 2018 to 2022.
A scout for the National League club said, “He has a great hitting history, so I think he sees the ball well over there.'' “It's really dark and the hitter picks up the ball well so that might be a factor. I guarantee he sees the ball well there.”
Scouts for American League teams agreed with that assessment.
“[Citi Field] He has a great, very good hitting history,'' said a former major leaguer scout. “I understand that. It’s instinctual for a former hitter to realize that. [Soto] He has great vision as a hitter, his selectivity is pretty extraordinary, his vision from the release point and tracking the ball, that's certainly part of it. ”
Soto hit a career-high 41 home runs last season, but he doesn't have to worry about a significant drop in that category even if he swaps his home address from Yankee Stadium to Citi Field next season.
According to Statcast, of the 20 home runs he hit at Yankee Stadium last season, all but two would have gone over the fence at Citi Field.
“You can run the ball to right field, and obviously Yankee Stadium is short, but Citi Field is also a good place for left field to pull the ball,” the American League team's scout said. “[Soto] is primarily a pull hitter, but I think that power from right-center to the right field line is an advantage for left-handed pull power hitters. ”
Soto hit 35 home runs (a career high before this season) with the Padres in 2023.
According to Statcast, his home run total was nearly four more than his expected home run total of 31.3, based on the trajectory and distance of the blast. Last season, Soto hit 45 home runs (including the postseason) and had an expected total of 47.7 home runs.
“[Soto] He can line drive the ball from anywhere in the park,” said a scout for the National League team. “He can go up the middle with a line drive that just goes up. He's not trying to manufacture lift. He's got a great swing and is incredibly strong and has great torque and He has leverage and uses his lower body really well. He'll have no problem hitting it anywhere.”
