Juan Soto Is Impressed By Rookie Who Mimicked His Move

New York Mets outfielder Juan Soto has received all kinds of tributes and awards, but some are more unique than others. That was definitely the case with Los Angeles Dodgers rookie Josue De Paula, who used the “imitation is the sincerest form of flattery” tactic by mimicking Soto’s shuffle during his late-season callup.

The sequence is familiar to Mets fans, per Will Sammon and Fabian Arday of The Athletic. De Paula used the move in one of his first games in the majors, which is a pretty gutsy move for a guy who’s still adjusting to The Show. The rookie took a pitch out of the strike zone, squatted in his stance, then shook his head with what can only be called Soto-esque intensity. 

Soto saw the video, saying “a lot of people” sent it to him, and he actually didn’t mind at all. Just the opposite, in fact as he noted that De Paula showed a lot of emotion and was really passionate. His final review of the rookie’s acting job concluded with the statement that  DePaula was “just feeling it.” 

De Paula should be feeling it. He’s been so good since being called up that the Dodgers elected to appear mostly as a bat off the bench, per the writers. But the Dodgers think the rookie is ready for October, and Soto agrees. 

Soto described De Paula as “special,” with plenty of ability, and he added that the rookie understand the strike zone and has the ability to be a grinder to go with it. 

De Paula met Soto back when he was a teenager, which wasn’t all that long ago. The Dodgers rookie signed out of the same baseball academy where Soto played back during his salad days, and the meeting happened in the Dominican Republic after it was set up by super agent Scott Boras. 

The two players have had conversations and that’s where Soto came away impressed. He noted that they didn’t have to talk much about hitting or playing the outfield to get on the same page, although De Paula might be wise to take any outfield advice he got from Soto with a grain of salt. 

Still, Soto said the rookie gave him the sense that he. knwe what he was doing, and now De Paula’s act includes a full-blown version of the Soto shuffle. The rookie said he wasn’t trying to do all of it, but now he’s a marked man and then some in the confidence department.