Opposing player spotlight: Juan Soto, former National current Met

Soto will be shuffling into Nationals Park with his third different team since the trade

Hello there, old friend.

This will be the third different team Juan Soto has suited up for while facing the Nationals. The first time, he returned with the Padres and was met with a standing ovation. The second time, wearing Yankees pinstripes, he received the same warm welcome. And the third time? Well, that remains to be seen. There’s been a lot of interesting discourse online with different opinions on how fans should receive Soto this time around.

I could beat the dead horse and dive back into the well of Juan Soto Nationals storylines. There’s no shortage of angles: the trade, the what-ifs, the missed window. But instead, I want to take a different approach.

Let’s talk about Mets Juan Soto, the one walking into Nationals Park this week.

The Mets’ offense sits firmly in the middle of the pack across Major League Baseball. They rank 18th in team batting average at .234 and are tied for 16th in runs scored with 105 on the season. Their on-base percentage is .320, which places them 20th overall. With numbers like these, it’s fair to wonder how they’ve managed to hold the best record in the league.

The answer? Pitching. But we’ll save that story for another time.

Offensively, the Mets have been carried by two key players. Francisco Lindor is hitting .309, and Pete Alonso is currently 5th in the league with a .341 average. These two are doing their part, but the lineup is still waiting for Juan Soto to become the guy they brought him in to be.

And the thing is, he’s close. That version of Soto feels just around the corner.

Offensively, things are still coming together. Juan Soto is off to a slow start by his standards, hitting just .233 with 3 home runs and 12 RBIs, though he’s still getting on base with a .364 OBP. For most players, that’d be perfectly serviceable.

For Soto, it’s a noticeable dip, especially coming off a scorching hot start with the Yankees last year where he posted a .987 OPS in March and April.

But if you dig a little deeper, this is all par for the course.

Historically, Soto has often taken some time to heat up. Across his career in March and April (2018–2025), he holds a slash line of roughly .259/.397/.465—solid, but still well below his non-March/April career OPS of around .966. He’s a notoriously slow starter, yet by the end of nearly every season, he’s one of the most feared hitters in baseball. 2022 and now 2025 both rank among his “worst” early-season starts, but even in those seasons, his walk rate and on-base skills remain elite.

Even now, while his power numbers are a bit muted (ISO down to .180), his OBP is still .385. He’s not chasing, he’s seeing the ball, and he’s putting together quality at-bats. It’s the same blueprint we’ve seen before, a quiet few weeks before the storm hits.

If history is any indicator, the Juan Soto that Mets fans have been waiting for is right around the corner. May is the month where he tends to heat up. And if you’re looking for a place that brings out the best in him, Nationals Park might be it.

Since being traded from Washington in August 2022, Soto has returned to Nationals Park 10 times across stints with the Padres, Yankees, and now Mets. In those games, he’s been nothing short of dominant: a .378 batting average, 1.181 OPS, 3 home runs, 11 RBI, and 8 walks over just 46 plate appearances. He’s slugged .703, gotten on base nearly half the time, and even doubled three times for good measure. It’s a small sample size, but the message is loud. Soto doesn’t just come back to D.C., he puts on a show.

Now, with another visit to his old stomping grounds about to be underway, and the month of May fast approaching, everything feels lined up for Soto to flip the switch once again. He might just terrorize the Nationals this series. So give him that standing ovation if you want, I think it’s time we treat him like a division rival.