Yankees announcer questions Mets’ Juan Soto’s leadership: ‘All he had to do was hit’

When Juan Soto signed with the Mets for $765 million over 15 years, the narrative was simple: The best player available goes to the biggest market for the biggest deal.

On the latest episode of “The Michael Kay Show,” Yankees announcer Michael Kay raised a question he’s been mulling through the Mets’ brutal 9-19 start. What does it mean when the face of your franchise isn’t the type of leader a struggling team desperately needs?

“Soto leads by the way he plays the game, the way he goes about his business, the way he prepares. That’s his leadership,” Kay said, via YouTube.

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It’s the kind of leadership that works well when you have the right supporting structure around you — which, Kay argued, is exactly what Soto had with the Yankees.

With Aaron Judge as captain, Giancarlo Stanton as a veteran presence, and Gerrit Cole anchoring the rotation, the Yankees gave Soto the perfect environment.

“All that Soto had to do with the Yankees was be great at the plate. That’s it. That’s all he had to do. But with the Mets, there’s an added responsibility,” Kay said.

Soto is now the highest-paid player on the Mets and one of the highest-paid athletes in professional sports history. Whether he wants it or not, Kay believes players and fans look to him.

“You have a transcendent player, an all-time player in Juan Soto that you’re paying $50 million a year for 15 years and you didn’t make the playoffs last year and you start off 9-19 this year, people will lose patience in a hurry,” Kay said.