New York Mets star outfielder Juan Soto respectfully wants all the smoke, saying he wants to beat Shohei Ohtani and win his first MVP award.
New York Mets star outfielder Juan Soto had an incredible first season as a Met in 2025 and it’s just the beginning of a massive 15-year, $765 million contract.
Soto instantly became a fan favorite in Queens and was a staple at the top of the lineup, helping guide the offense through a tremendous first half. Unfortunately for the Mets, the offense went cold down the stretch and the team failed to make the postseason.
That resulted in the roster undergoing drastic changes in an effort to improve the defense and pitching staff as the team embarks on better run prevention. Soto is still here, though, and he will once again be the anchor of this new-look lineup.
In 2025, Soto hit 43 home runs and drove in 105 runs while leading Major League Baseball in walks (127), National League in stolen bases (38) and on-base percentage (.396) in 160 games. He was third in the NL with 6.2 bWAR and finished third in Most Valuable Player voting.
In an illustrious career filled with accolades – World Series champion, four-time All-Star, six-time Silver Slugger, batting title – Soto has yet to bring home the coveted MVP award.
He has six top 10 finishes in MVP voting, including four top five finishes, and the difficulty of winning the award has increased with the presence of Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani. Ohtani has won the award three consecutive times and in four of the last five seasons, mainly because of his impact as both a hitter and a pitcher.
It’s hard to compete with that. Even if you put up better offensive numbers, Ohtani being a great pitcher while being a full-time designated hitter is just too much to compete with.
Still, Soto wants to add that award to his mantle and expressed his desire to beat out Ohtani.
“He’s really good. He’s really good,” Soto told MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo. “I’ve just got to beat him. Definitely, it’s not going to be easy, but I’ve got to find a way to beat him.”
“I’m going to be there every year, too, so he better keep doing what he’s doing, because I’m coming.”
Those are strong words for Soto, but it shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone that has watched him or listened to him talk about the game. He’s a competitor and loves the competition that Ohtani and other great players give him, it makes him go.
It could prompt him to really focus on his defense this season and in the future. He prides himself on his defense, but he doesn’t have the best numbers for his career, which is likely keeping him from getting over the hump. Perhaps the shift to left field will help him.
Soto told DiComo that he wants to keep getting better in all phases of the game, specifically mentioning he wants to supply more power and hit for a better average offensively. Soto slashed .263/.396/.525 in 2025, good for a .921 OPS. If Soto gets his average to around his career mark (.282), he could walk away with his first MVP in 2026.