Juan Soto Makes Admission After Mets’ Loss to Padres

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Josh Valdez | Last updated Sep 18, 2025 1:14 AM ET

The New York Mets have one of the best star trios in baseball in Juan Soto, Pete Alonso, and Francisco Lindor, but they're still in crisis mode. They're just 1.5 games ahead of the Arizona Diamondbacks for the third and final NL wild card slot with 10 contests left in the regular season, and they're two games ahead of the Cincinnati Reds and San Francisco Giants.

Additionally, the Mets are five games behind the San Diego Padres for the second spot, so they're likely locked into a battle for the third seed. They have the upper hand, but it doesn't help that they're slumping at the wrong time. They're 2-8 in their last 10 games and are 5-10 in September, although they do have two series against losing teams coming up.

Still, New York can't underestimate anyone over this last stretch, as it has little room for error. Soto expressed urgency after the team's 7-4 loss to the Padres on Wednesday, via MLB.com's Anthony DiComo.

"We've gotta get going today. We can't wait till tomorrow," he said. "Tomorrow's going to be too late."

Soto hit a 369-foot solo homer to right in the fifth that brought the deficit to 6-3, but the Mets couldn't complete the comeback. The former World Series champion now ranks seventh in baseball with 41 homers, sixth with a .920 OPS, and is tied for 11th with 99 RBI. He also leads with 119 walks.

Juan Soto: "We've gotta get going today. We can't wait till tomorrow. Tomorrow's going to be too late."
— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) September 18, 2025

Mets Need Role Players to Step Up

New York's supporting cast isn't helping its star trio enough to win consistently. For example, third baseman Mark Vientos came into Wednesday slashing .188/.278/.354 in September. Additionally, catcher Francisco Alvarez was slashing .194/.286/.355, and center fielder Cedric Mullins was slashing .154/.258/.269.

The Mets' starting pitching has also been so subpar that they called up their three top pitching prospects to give them a boost in the middle of a playoff race. The results have been mixed, as right-hander Nolan McLean is 4-1 with a 1.19 ERA, while fellow right-hander Jonah Tong is 1-2 with an 8.49 ERA. Lastly, right-hander Brandon Sproat is 0-1 with a 2.25 ERA through two starts.

As for the veterans, New York sent down ace Kodai Senga to Triple-A after he recorded a 6.18 ERA in August, and right-hander Clay Holmes has a 5.68 ERA in September. On top of that, southpaw David Peterson came into Wednesday with a 6.10 ERA in the month before allowing six runs over five innings in the loss.

If at least a couple of these players don't step up over the remaining regular-season games, the Mets might be on the couch for the playoffs.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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