Juan Soto has only been with the New York Mets for seven weeks, but it looks like the team has already made a public relations flub with its biggest ever free-agent signing.
The Mets held their annual “Amazin’ Day” at Citi Field in Queens, N.Y., on Saturday. The sold-out event gave fans an opportunity to meet players, get a rare behind-the-scenes look at the ballpark, and more. One player fans did not get to interact with is Soto.
On Saturday morning, the Mets announced that Soto would not be able to attend “Amazin’ Day” because of “flight difficulties.” The team did not provide further details.
There may have been no further details because there was more to the story that the Mets did not care to share.
On Monday evening, Soto attended Game 7 of the LIDOM Championship Series between Leones del Escogido and Tigres del Licey in the Dominican Republic. Soto was in the dugout with Licey and was very animated throughout the game.
Licey legend Juan Soto (he has never played in LIDOM for fairly obvious reasons but has been very open about wanting to at some point in the future) is in the dugout and getting fired up over walks OF COURSE https://t.co/32kqBsfyib pic.twitter.com/d70gyXlUck
— Céspedes Family BBQ (@CespedesBBQ) January 28, 2025
Soto is essentially an honorary member of Licey, who lost the game 6-5. He has been open about wanting to play in the Dominican Winter League for Licey at some point.
Either Soto actually had “flight difficulties” and made the most of the situation, or he planned to remain in the Dominican Republic with Licey all along. Many believe the Mets made up a lame excuse because it is a bad look for a player who just signed a 15-year, $765 million contract to not show up for the team’s fan fest.
For those unaware, Juan Soto skipped the Mets' Amazin' Day event because wanted to attend Game 7 of the LIDOM C'ship Series. This is despite the Mets PR team saying it was due to "flight difficulties". This is a terrible look for both parties, so early in the piece. Bad start!
— Dan Clark (@DanClarkSports) January 29, 2025
Between Soto’s absence and fans breaking out a chant about Pete Alonso, things went exactly as Mets fans would expect on Saturday. There is more hype than ever surrounding the team heading into 2025, but Soto appears to be off to a bit of a rocky start.
