Juan Soto Slumps: His Average Drops to .224 and He's Now at 16 Hitless At-Bats

NEW YORK.– Concern is growing regarding the performance of Juan Soto, who went hitless again this Wednesday in the New York Mets' 9-4 loss to the Chicago White Sox. The star outfielder failed to get any ball out of the infield, worsening a negative streak that has marked his first season with the Mets.

Soto, who signed a historic $765 million contract in December as a free agent, is batting just .224, with 8 home runs and 25 RBIs in 55 games. Well below expectations, his average is 61 points below his career average at the start of this season.

The four-time All-Star and five-time Silver Slugger winner finished Wednesday's game 0-for-4, with a walk and a strikeout. His lackluster performance was accompanied by boos from a sparse crowd at Citi Field, where the game was moved up to 1:10 p.m. on Wednesday due to rain forecasts for the evening.

Since he connected a two-run double last Saturday against the Dodgers, Soto hasn't hit again and has a streak of 0 for 16 at-bats. Even on Tuesday he lost a hit in a confusing play in which he was called out for passing his teammate Brandon Nimmo on the bases.

Despite the slump, Mets manager Carlos Mendoza maintains confidence in his slugger. "He didn't hit the ball hard today, but his base, his lower body, looked in a better position," he commented after the game.

Soto hasn't hit a home run since May 9th and has had only 7 hits in his last 59 at-bats, for a poor average of .119. With runners in scoring position, his average in 2025 is only .130 (6 for 46), with one home run and 16 RBIs.

All of this contrasts with his brilliant previous season with the Yankees, in which he hit 41 home runs, drove in 109 runs, and recorded an OPS of .989, helping his team reach the World Series and finishing third in the American League MVP voting.

Since his return to Yankee Stadium on May 16, when he was constantly booed by the fans of his former team, Soto is batting just .114 (5 for 44) with only one extra-base hit.

Despite the offensive slump, some advanced metrics show that he has been a victim of misfortune. According to Baseball Savant, he remains in the 90th percentile in several solid contact categories, although his bat speed has dropped from the 94th percentile to the 73rd compared to last year.

In fact, in Tuesday's victory against the White Sox, Soto made three outs on batted balls that came off the bat at over 99 miles per hour. "Yesterday was the perfect example of his season: 0 for 4 with three balls at almost 100 miles per hour," Mendoza said with a laugh. "It's hard to explain. But this is baseball."