Mets should be concerned about Juan Soto's inconsistency this season

At the trade deadline, the Mets made numerous additions to help their bullpen, and the unit on paper now looks fantastic. However, a concern for the franchise going forward might be a lineup that has been a bit inconsistent, starting with their star.

Bradford Doolittle of ESPN recently wrote about the production from Juan Soto being a bit of a concern for the Mets heading down the stretch.

“As for Soto, it's perhaps not fair to call him a concern. This hasn't been his best season, but it has been a good season, at least by the standards of most players. But Soto at his .300/.400/.600 best can carry a team.”

Has Soto Disappointed?

There was no bigger prize in free agency than Soto this winter, and New York's signing him was a massive move for the franchise. So far, it’s fair to say that his first year with the Mets has been a bit disappointing based on the expectations.

This campaign, he has slashed .249/.383/.477 with 25 home runs and 63 RBI in 112 games played. While those numbers are fantastic for most, it’s been a down season for Soto's own standards.

The 26-year-old has seen his slash line decrease somewhat significantly across the board compared to last year with the New York Yankees, when he hit .288/.419/.569 with a .989 OPS. One of the reasons for that has been some wild inconsistencies from him month to month.

After a very sluggish start to his career with the Mets, he had a fantastic June, and things looked like they were going to be turning around; that month, he slashed .322/.474/.722 with 11 home runs and 20 RBI.  However, the numbers dropped in July, slashing .210/.340/.420 with five home runs and 15 RBI. Things haven’t looked great in a small sample size in August so far, either.

If New York is going to catch the Phillies and make some noise in the NL in the playoffs, Soto needs to be the star they are paying him to be. He's shown glimpses of it, but the Mets need him to maintain it.