Juan Soto is keeping his end of the bargain while the Mets fall apart

The New York Mets handed Juan Soto the largest contract in professional sports history because they wanted a player capable of changing the direction of the franchise.

Soto is doing his part. The Mets (50-66) are not.

Even with two separate calf injuries interrupting his season, Soto is batting .283 with 21 home runs, 52 RBI and a .947 OPS. He remains the most productive hitter on the roster, and the gap between him and nearly everyone around him is difficult to ignore.

Those numbers may not place him at the front of the National League MVP race, especially while he remains sidelined with a Grade 2 left calf strain. They do, however, eliminate Soto from the long list of reasons New York’s season has unraveled.

The Mets paid for a superstar. They have one.

Juan Soto cannot rescue the Mets by himself

A $765 million contract creates absurd expectations. Every slump becomes a crisis, every quiet series becomes a referendum and every team failure somehow finds its way back to the player collecting the largest paycheck.

Soto is an easy target because his contract is impossible to overlook. Blaming him would also be lazy.

He leads the Mets in several major offensive categories despite missing time. Before landing on the injured list, he was producing at nearly the same level as his career .948 OPS. In other words, New York is receiving the Juan Soto it expected.

What the Mets are not receiving is a competitive roster.

The club entered the trade deadline in last place and responded by moving several veterans, including Clay Holmes, Luke Weaver, Brooks Raley, Huascar Brazobán and Tyrone Taylor. Selling was understandable given the standings. It was also a stunning development for an organization that entered the season carrying enormous expectations and one of baseball’s most expensive players.

Soto signed a 15-year contract, so the Mets have time to recover. That cannot become an excuse for wasting years at the front of the deal.

He is 27 years old and firmly in his prime. These are supposed to be the seasons when New York surrounds him with enough talent to chase championships. Instead, the Mets are already talking about younger players, future flexibility and whatever other polite language teams use when the current plan catches fire.

The pressure now belongs to the front office

Soto has said there is a “100 percent” chance he returns this season, even though the Mets have little left to pursue. That answer says plenty about his willingness to play. It also raises a fair question about what exactly he is returning to help save.

A surprising sweep of Cleveland after the deadline offers a little entertainment, but three good games do not erase months of failure. The Mets are still relying on an interim manager and a reworked roster while their best player rehabs another injury.

Soto’s contract will be evaluated over many years. Nobody should declare it a success or failure after fewer than two seasons. Still, the early returns on the player are not the concern.

The concern is whether the Mets can construct something credible around him.

Soto is keeping his end of the bargain. He is getting on base, hitting for power and performing like the centerpiece New York purchased.

Now the Mets must stop behaving like signing him completed the job. It only gave them a far more expensive one.