MLB Insider Thinks Juan Soto Could've Emerged As MVP Candidate

There isn't much to be excited about right now when it comes to the New York Mets. 

The Mets began the second half of the season with the second-worst record in the National League and just 40 wins, putting them eight games behind the Washington Nationals in order to get out of last place in the National League East. 

The Mets are reportedly opening up the trade market anytime, and a flurry of players could be moved before the deadline comes on August 3. 

However, there is one positive: Superstar slugger Juan Soto. 

Soto, who signed a whopping 15-year, $765 million deal, had 43 home runs and 105 RBIs in his first season with the Mets in 2025. 

Coming out of the All-Star break, Soto had 21 home runs and 55 RBIs, making it realistic that he hits the 40-home run, 100 RBI mark this time. 

On Thursday, MLB.com insider Anthony DiComo said Soto hitting those numbers certainly isn't "out of the question." 

"I'm never going to say anything is out of the question," DiComo said. "I didn't think Juan Soto was going to steal 30 bases last year, either." 

DiComo even said Soto could be in the MVP conversation. 

"If he hadn't missed those first two and a half weeks in April, we'd be talking with him, Shohei Ohtani and Pete Crow-Armstrong right there in the early MVP race. That's going to be difficult for Soto, but again, I won't count him out for that, either." 

DiComo said it is all about individual numbers for Soto this season, which makes sense with the Mets trending in the wrong way and likely to be massive sellers at the deadline. 

Soto's career high in RBIs is 110, which came in 2019 with the Washington Nationals, and he had a career-best 43 home runs last season for the Mets. 

He is also in the top-10 in OPS, so Soto has been hitting extremely well. He has played 78 games, and the fact he missed time earlier in the season is another thing to note. 

Right now, the Mets are in the midst of a lost season where they fired Carlos Mendoza, and the only real positive is the strong play of Juan Soto. 

It will be a longshot for him to be in the MVP conversation, but at the very least, maybe he can set career-best numbers and give Mets fans more of a reason to watch games the rest of the season.