Mets' Mendoza will discuss lack of hustle out of box with Soto

New York Mets manager Carlos Mendoza plans to have a conversation with Juan Soto after the star outfielder spent too long admiring a ball off the wall during Monday's game against the Boston Red Sox.

Soto smoked a ball off the Green Monster at Fenway Park in the top of the sixth inning with an exit velocity of 101.9 mph. However, he was slow to get out of the batter's box, thinking the ball had a chance to go out for a home run. He ultimately settled for a single but stole second base on the very next pitch.

"He thought he had it," Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said postgame, according to SNY. "With the wind and all that. In this ballpark ... with that wall right there, you gotta get out of the box. We'll discuss that."

Soto finished the game with one hit in four at-bats as the Mets lost for the fourth time in the last five games.

"I think I've been hustling pretty hard," Soto said, per SNY. "If you see it today, you could tell."

Soto entered Monday's game in the 15th percentile in Baseball Savant's sprint speed this season with an average of 25.7 feet per second. He finished in the 36th percentile with an average of 26.8 feet per second in 2024.